Finding Power
by SilenceoftheHeart
Summary: A retelling of the classic fairy tale from another's point of view, someone who carries with her a secret. InuSess. Warnings Genderbending and Inucest het
1. Chapter 1

Warnings-Gender bending of major characters, Inucest (of the het kind)

Disclaimer-I do not own Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru or anything related to them. They are the wonderful property of Rumiko Takahashi

**Finding Power**

Chapter One

_Disgusting,_ the white youkai thought as she gazed out on the human encampment which was, unfortunately, set up exactly where she wanted to be. She wrinkled her nose as the scents of unwashed bodies and human waste filled the valley. For a moment, she simply observed them from the trees deciding on the most efficient method to remove these filthy beasts from her territory. Her sharp gaze settled on the large tent set up in the center of the military camp. The general sat within, surrounded by his fawning underlings. The daiyoukai decided the general must set the atmosphere for his men. His persona screamed excess with his flabby figure, unshaven face, and stained and poorly maintained wardrobe. Humans were such undisciplined creatures.

She watched in faint curiosity as one of the general's young apprentices dragged a large boar to the center of the tent before bowing and backing away. Even from this distance, the inuyoukai's keen eyes could see that the carcass had been tampered with. Only her father's strict training kept the young woman from rolling her eyes at what happened next. The general reached down and grasped the sabotaged corpse and, in a pretentious display of strength, wrenched the head of said corpse from its body. Even worse, his pathetic followers gushed over the event as if it hadn't been staged. What kind of leader took the trouble of arranging such a display in order to prove his own power? Of course, all leaders adapted a persona in order to showcase their greatness. Of all people, she knew how important it was to seem to be what others wanted. But this wasn't just a case of putting on an acceptable costume. This man was faking _power_.

And yet it gave her just the opening she needed. As the man's pathetic supporters watched, the youkai rushed to the man's side--seeming to appear right before their very eyes. In a display of real power, she entangled her clawed fingers in the man's greasy hair and, with simply a twist of her wrist, tore the general's head from his shoulders.

"You're in my way," she informed the shocked soldiers in her artificially lowered voice. "Move."

The silence that followed her dramatic little stunt greatly pleased the daiyoukai. The scent of sweat and adrenaline filled the air as the mortals overcame themselves with fear. Somewhere, a few had even managed to urinate themselves. It was always so…satisfying to cow an entire army with a few words. The peaceful silence was broken, however, when their leader's now headless body collapsed in a bloody heap. Murmuring began as word spread to the disbelievers in the back who refused to accept that their great leader had just been felled.

Ignoring the whispers regarding the general's demise, the white youkai tossed aside the man's head and approached the highest point in the valley. Several men stood in her path, clearly too terrified to even move. She wondered if it was actually instinct within a weak species that made them believe they wouldn't become prey if they just stood really, really still. Well, it didn't work for deer and it wouldn't work for these men either.

"Leave, before you begin to annoy me," she stated as calmly as though she was wishing them a nice evening. As she expected the pathetic creatures fled before her. "Jaken," she called back to her own fawning underling, "bring the Nintoujou."

Dismissing the traumatized mortals, the young woman watched with impatient eyes as the minor youkai shambled forward, bouncing the two-headed staff and cackling at the terrified men. Not for the first time, the young woman wondered if it ever occurred to the tiny imp that the only thing separating him from the position these mortals found themselves in was that he had the fortune to be serving a truly powerful master.

"Yes, Master," the imp squawked as he approached the spot where she stood, continuing to scorn the men around them. Then, with self-importance the daiyoukai doubted the imp deserved, he thrust the enchanted staff into the earth. She waited with unacknowledged anxiety making her heart race and palms sweat while the staff took a moment to react. Would the male or female skull respond? After two centuries had she finally found it? No matter how many times she waited for the staff's reaction, she never loss this feeling, that perhaps this would be the time. Then, the female opened her mouth and screamed.

"It is the woman who is screaming, Master," the imp pointed out. "The tomb is not here." _Oh, do point out the obvious_, she wanted to reply as her heart fell.

"No," she agreed calmly instead, "let us go."

Turning away from the small youkai and staff before she destroyed either in her frustration, the inuyoukai was surprised to see the mortals attempting to surround her.

"Y-you're not human," one finally stuttered as she watched them. _Again with stating the obvious_. Why was it that everyone around her felt the need to explain such simple things to her?

"You're still here?" she asked, letting them wonder for a moment if they had made a mistake. Which, of course, they had. Then they made some more.

"Mononoke," she heard shouted from the back lines.

"Attack," she heard shouted from the front.

And for one moment she considered following that command. But her disappointment at not finding the elusive tomb would have colored her victory. It just wasn't even worth the effort. Besides, she had better things to do, like figure out what she was going to do next.

"I'm not wasting my energy on the effort," she informed her tiny follower. "Jaken, take care of them." And she turned and strode away. Behind her, she heard the maniacal laughter of the imp and then the roar of fire as he unleashed the destructive power of the Nintoujou. Soon the foul scents that had blanketed the valley were replaced with the sweet, heavy scent of burning leather and human flesh. A small smile crossed the emotionless face. Perhaps her time had not been completely wasted.

Once out of the valley, the white youkai waited for her tiny henchman to catch up with her. Watching the light show occurring below her, the inuyoukai considered the deceased general's display of power. In many ways, it wasn't entirely different than what she did. Unlike him, she had real power so there was no need to pretend. However, she acted out a part in order to maintain fear and control over those beneath her.

Her father had been a great and terrible daiyoukai, controlling the mountain ranges of the west. Her mother was a beautiful, if flighty, youkai who--ironically--kept a palace in the shifting clouds over Japan. Unsurprisingly, it was the stable mountain youkai who took control of her upbringing. But she was his only child. And a girl.

Yet such a simple matter of the gender of his first-born could not dissuade the all-powerful Inu No Taisho. He raised her and trained her as his heir, either oblivious or simply ignoring the fact that, as a female, she could never take that place. By the time she reached adolescence, the young youkai realized that her father may have forgotten that she was a girl at all. Suddenly, she realized that the great daiyoukai was having no more children and truly expected her to take his place, something she could only do as a male. It was then she began binding her newly developing breasts and experimenting with voice-tampering exercises.

So, for over three hundred years the most feared and powerful youkai in Japan hid behind an illusion. The only one who lived who knew of the young woman's true gender was her mother. But the older woman simply found the situation amusing and was no threat to the daiyoukai's territories. Even the devoted--and perhaps infatuated--Jaken was oblivious to his Master's secret.

But although her image was a façade, her power was very, very real. Her birth had guaranteed she would inherit her father's vast territories, but it was the result of his training and her own power that she kept them after his death. And only increasing her power and strength could guarantee that she continued to keep them. That was the ultimate lesson her father had taught her. Strength and power are the most valuable of commodities and will always be challenged. Building them was the key to maintaining the respect of those beneath her.

And as long as there was power to be sought for and gained, she would hunt it down. Hence, this treasure hunt she'd been engaged in for almost two centuries. For, although her beloved father had left his territories in her hands, he had hidden away the key to inheriting his power. Something she'd always believed he would leave for her. Perhaps this was a test, he did that sort of thing a lot. Maybe, in order to gain his power she had to find it first. Perhaps he believed she wouldn't be worthy until then. Who knows. The old man had been acting rather strangely near his end. Secretly, she feared that he'd hidden it away because he had completely lost his mind and she may never be able to find it.

Her only clues were a damn, enchanted staff, and a stupid riddle. _A place you can see, but cannot be seen. A place The Guardian can never see._ What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Finally, the lights in the valley began to die down. In the place of a thriving army, was now just a scorched patch of earth. Just as well, it would grow better that way. Anything that decided to thrive there was better than the filth that had just been cleaned out. Eventually, the imp shuffled up to her, adrenaline still running through his small body as he came down from the euphoria of the slaughter.

"It is done, Master," he preened, his voice wheezing from his excitement.

"Come," she replied, her disguised voice giving him no reason to question her authority, "our search continues." She turned and walked off into the woods, her slow strides giving her ample opportunity to decide which direction she would go in. She had just exhausted the only lead she'd received in at least a decade. Perhaps, she should just return to her stronghold for a bit. Like her father, she was a mountain youkai and she loved returning to her ancestral lands and reminding those who lived there why it was _her_ territory. That she was the most powerful youkai in all of Japan.

But she would take her time returning. Perhaps, not likely, but perhaps, she would find a lead on the way. So she made her way slowly through the lands she controlled and toward her favorite range, step-by-step as if she was no different from any mortal creature. Eventually, she came upon a peaceful lake. A valley really, filled with icy mountain run-off. Calm and serene, yet deadly for any creature who was tempted by its icy beauty. She could fly over it, but then she would have to wait for Jaken to make his way across, or worse around, the lake. She detested those grubby fingers clutching at her fur and avoided it unless absolutely necessary.

Besides, she had decided to take her time.

"A boat," she stated as she stopped by the frigid shoreline.

"Wh-what?" the imp asked, clearly having no idea why she would bring up a mortal contraption at a time like this.

The youkai noticed with some satisfaction that the small creature's scent spike with the telltale signs of fear as she turned her narrowed gaze to him.

"I need a boat," she clarified, her tone leaving no room for questions; at least for any moderately intelligent creature that wanted to remain breathing for another few minutes. Thankfully, Jaken fell into this category.

"Of course, Master," he stammered, "I will fetch one immediately."

As the small youkai scampered off, the white inuyoukai watched as the moon descended over the horizon. The sounds and scents of her mountains were comforting and welcome on the crisp mountain air, but there was also an underlying tension. Things were not well. For the most part, her lands were not overly distressed by the unnatural shifts in power, but other lands were. And anything that affected other lands, affected her territory as well, even if only minutely. Something was gaining power, whether this would affect her she still had to decide. Also, fake power was changing hands. The fabled Shikon No Tama had shattered and undeserving youkai were trying to take advantage of borrowed strength. For now, she waited to see if it would be resolved without her interference. But if the imbalances continue she would have to get involved.

Soon, the sound of shifting water caught her wandering attention as her little companion glided up in a small boat.

"I found one," he called out to her. _No more explaining the obvious tonight, please_, she begged silently.

Without a word, she stepped aboard and lowered herself as Jaken pushed away from the beach and, disgracefully using the Nintoujou, poled them across the lake.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, perhaps," he started nervously before stuttering to a stop.

"Yes?" she asked after a few moments passed, having little patience for uncertainty. Especially when wasting her time or attention.

"Eh, the tomb. Perhaps…well, perhaps Inuyasha would know where it is."

"Inuyasha," she repeated. Now it was clear why the little youkai had been so reluctant to speak. Swinging an arm back, a very satisfying smack sent the imp flying into the water. Without looking back, she grabbed the Nintoujou as it flew from Jaken's grip and immediately plunged it into the water, this time a satisfying thunk indicating she'd hit her mark.

"I was under the impression you knew not to mention that pathetic hanyou in front of me," she reminded the squirming youkai as he struggled to break free of the Nintoujou's hold and find the surface of the deathly freezing waters.

"Urg…" he gasped as he tried to speak with water gushing down his lungs. "I-I am sorry, Master," he finally gasped. "Pl-Please, forgive me."

A few more moments--and significant groveling--later, the white youkai pulled the Nintoujou from the water. Much as she might enjoy killing him, Jaken was one of her most reliable retainers, and she might regret his loss.

"Besides," she reminded the still drowning youkai, "he is not a source of information that is available to us. Surely you haven't forgotten he has been struck down by a spell?"

"But that is just it," Jaken panted, barely able to hold his head above the waves he was creating even without the Nintoujou holding him under. "I have heard that he has been released."

Sesshoumaru finally turned to stare in shocked silence at her imp's words. And while he certainly looked eager to get back into her good graces--and back into the boat--he appeared to be telling the truth. Well, that changed a few things.

Inuyasha was alive.

**TBC...**

Annoying A/N-Okay, I am a rampant yaoi fangirl who thinks slash/inucest is just about the hottest thing ever. But this idea attacked me and won't let me go. Sorry for everyone who might be mildly (or more) disturbed by the pretense of this story. And for anyone who wonders what I'm thinking-yes I know Sesshoumaru is a guy, not a girl in disguise. As such I am officially classifying this as an AU that will follow a lot of canon events. I'm also going to be interpreting these events in a manner which I hope is true to the canon but also works into my story line. Other than the obvious gender bending I'm hoping to simply provide an alternate interpretation to the characters without making them wildly OOC. I rely on you to tell me if I'm failing in that respect.

And if you made it this far, I want to thank you so much for reading this attempt. Please review and let me know how I'm doing.

Silence


	2. Chapter 2

_Warnings_: for this chapter…nothing really

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, or anything relating to either one. They are the property of the magnificent Rumiko Takahashi

**Chapter Two**

Sesshoumaru waited as a disformed shadow separated from the caved-in hut. As it pulled away from the darkness, the light of the moon revealed the image of a young human woman. She appeared in her mid-twenties, long black hair swinging around her shoulders and brown eyes glistening. She was dressed simply, a casual yukata and overskirt. This vision appeared to be one of any human peasant women in these parts. Except this woman's clothing wasn't worn and her countenance was healthy in this land of famine.

And she was smiling.

Humans in this godforsaken parched earth didn't smile. There was simply nothing to inspire such feelings of happiness.

Oblivious to her watcher, the dark-haired woman took a few more steps, her arms clutching her breast tightly and her smile taking on a soft, dreamy tenor. "Mine," the white youkai heard whispered on the wind. "My child, now you'll be with us forever."

Deciding she'd seen enough of this disgustingly touching scene, Sesshoumaru released her youki into the air. Within moments, the temperature dropped and a wind swirled around both women.

Finally sensing the icy strands of youki penetrating the earth and air currents, the dark-haired woman looked up at the daiyoukai observing her. Her brown eyes caught on the indigo moon marking the white youkai as a descendant of the skies. And only one of those walked on the earth.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," the woman greeted in a voice lowered in reverence. Her eyes drifted down and her head declined as she awaited an answer from the powerful youkai before her.

"You wear the illusion of a mortal woman," Sesshoumaru stated, wondering if this plan just might work after all.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama," the dark-haired woman answered, head still bowed. "This woman is now a part of me, we are one. We came to collect our child; we couldn't leave our daughter behind. It calmed the girl to see us this way."

Finally, the woman looked back up. Yet instead of meeting warm, brown eyes, Sesshoumaru gazed into deep, black orbs. As the daiyoukai watched, the rest of the lesser youkai's façade faded away. Smooth, flowing hair tangled and became coarse, framing her now emancipated face. Sickly, pockmarked skin stretched over brittle bones until her frame was covered with torn and dirty rags.

"Why have you come to see us, Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked, her tone curious but still appropriately reverent. "May we be of some service?"

_Of course not,_ she thought sarcastically, _I came because I _wanted_ to see your ugly face._

"Perhaps," the white youkai responded. "Tell me, are you able to create any illusion or only recreate the image of those you have devoured."

The lesser youkai dropped her grotesque gaze in an attempt to hide her displeasure at the inuyoukai's term. Sesshoumaru, however, missed nothing.

"I can take on the image of those who have joined us, as well as any other form we choose. We must, however, have an adequate depiction of a woman in order to obtain her form."

"Then yes," the inuyoukai allowed a gentle, closed-lipped smile to cross her face, "you may be of some service. I have a proposition for you."

_Later..._

A breeze lifted heavy strands of silver hair from her neck as Sesshoumaru stood on a cliff overlooking a stretch of flat forest. Her nerves were still slightly raw from allowing the Mu-Onna to dig around in her mind. She had been careful to only allow the lesser youkai access to memories of a certain mortal woman and the daiyoukai's mental barriers were solid; however, it was still disconcerting to have another youkai shifting through her brain.

It had been nearly two days since she'd discovered news of Inuyasha's awakening and there were still a few things left to do. She had no idea if the boy knew the location of the tomb or not, but she'd certainly exhausted every other option. To be frank, she'd just decimated an army because someone somewhere had mentioned they'd seen a flea in a valley. Interrogating a hanyou must be more promising than that. If the boy knew anything at all, Sesshoumaru was sure she'd get it out of him. _And if he knew nothing_, she shrugged as the thought occurred to her, _it wasn't as though anyone would miss him_.

As it was, she was pulling out all the stops. Perhaps she was going a little overboard, with the Mu-Onna and all, but at least she'd either find her answers or be sure the hanyou had none to give. Maybe she'd be lucky and get the answers, find the tomb, get the power, and destroy the hanyou all at once. She smiled and another gust of icy wind fanned her thick mane. The next day had significant potential.

But first she needed one more thing. And although her head felt raw, she didn't exactly need her full concentration to handle this. The stretch of forest that spread before her was far from her own territory. This part in her little play would likely be sacrificial and it wouldn't do to recruit from those who lived within her lands. Of course, she had no compulsions against compelling any youkai, including those under her protection, but it was best for the balances within her lands if she searched for her sacrificial victims elsewhere.

And stupid oni were so easy to find.

Taking a step off the cliff edge, the white inuyoukai floated down into the dark embrace of the trees below. As she gently touched the toes of one booted foot to the ground, following it closely by the next, she released strands of youki into the ground and spread them like searching roots. Power seeks power. Soon every creature in the forest would know she was here. The weak would flee, the thinking would understand they were outmatched, and the stupid would come running. Exactly the kind she wanted.

Within moments, the nocturnal chirps and chatter of tiny wildlife ceased, signaling that a predator was headed her way. Gradually, she heard a rustling as something large made its way through the underbrush toward her from her right. She turned her head only slightly, knowing the deliberate noise was an attempt at a distraction since she picked up the rancid scent of several oni gathering to her left, slightly to her back. She remained still as a red oni burst through a tree and entered the clearing where she stood.

Unphased by the ugly monster's show of strength, Sesshoumaru only watched, an ear listening for noises from behind, as splinters of the ancient oak filled the air before littering the ground. A monstrous battle cry escaped the creature's lips as it swung its oversized head to stare at her. A single horn curved from between the oni's mud-colored eyes and, as the brute located the trespassing youkai, it leveled that horn toward her.

Sesshoumaru stood as the beast, several heads taller than she in its two-legged stance, dropped to all fours, snorting and pawing the ground as if it were beneath even the most base of creatures. She didn't even flinch as it released another cry and feigned a charge. Only when it aborted its unresponded-to attack did it rise again to its full height and gaze at her. For a moment, brown eyes met gold and the inuyoukai wondered if it did, indeed, possess some intelligence.

As the monster stood, staring in confusion at the still, white youkai, Sesshoumaru suddenly leapt into the air. A taloned fist narrowly missed shredding her back as a second attacker entered the field.

A frustrated roar escaped the belly of the grey-skinned monster that had thought to catch her unaware. Sesshoumaru landed lightly in a tree some feet away, hands folded casually in the sleeves of her kimono, as the two oni scowled up at her.

"I'm looking for someone to accomplish a task for me," she remarked as a third and fourth oni entered the impromptu battlefield. "You will be rewarded as this Sesshoumaru spares your life. Do any of you ugly beasts even possess the ability of speech?" The enraged bellows coming from the four oni filling the clearing were about the response she'd expected. In truth, she wasn't speaking to them anyway. She could detect the scent of a fifth creature that remained hidden, beyond the line of trees. His youki was barely stronger than these but he probably served as the leader of this sorry pack of beasts.

Before the ear-splitting cries silenced, the fourth oni rammed the tree containing the still-calm daiyoukai with his double-horned head. As the tree base cracked and buckled under the bull-like oni's attack, Sesshoumaru once again leapt into the air. This time, though, instead of landing lightly in some innocent spot, she raced toward the earth too quickly for these pathetic opponents to see. Her speed causing her to be all but invisible to her attackers, Sesshoumaru landed next to the center oni with claws marking her passing. Releasing a wave of deadly youki into the marked beast's system caused every nerve to ignite, every muscle to contact, and every vein to burst. And only when the red oni exploded in a shower of blood, did the rest see where the white inuyoukai had landed.

Thick, red fluid coated the three remaining beasts as they silenced and stared at the daiyoukai standing calmly among them. Sesshoumaru took advantage of this shocked moment of silence. Targeting the spine of the oni closest to her, she spun with her left claws outstretched. For a brief moment, she relished in the feel of skin, muscle, and bone shredding before her hand once again met the cool night air and she leapt away. The two remaining oni watched as the inuyoukai vanished before their companion's head even reached the ground.

Once again, the deceptively beautiful youkai landed gracefully on the other side of the clearing, her white clothing stained in the red-black blood of her two victims. Her long, silver mane hung heavy behind her, bits of viscera causing the strands to clump and stick to her back. She made an amazing sight. Perhaps resembling a fallen angel.

Proving that not all stupid creatures were without the instinct for self-preservation, the bull-like oni took a step back before turning and fleeing into the trees. Sesshoumaru suspected its leader would deal with it later for its cowardice. If the leader survived, that is. As of yet, the final oni had yet to make an appearance. Probably preferring to allow his underlings to wear the mysterious youkai down before attempting to finish her off himself.

_Too bad these pathetic creatures couldn't even provide exercise_, Sesshoumaru lamented as she watched the grey oni circle her, its red eyes clouded with both rage and caution. This was the same creature that had attempted to catch her while distracted by the red oni's antics. It appeared, however, it was attempting to use the same tactic again. As it drew her attention, she heard the stealthy movements of the final beast in the woods behind her.

Launching into a sudden charge of her own, Sesshoumaru plunged her right claws into the unsuspecting stomach of the grey oni just as the leader rushed into the gore-covered battlefield. Slicing past the monster's internal organs and wrapping her talons around the bony protrusions of her victim's spine, she used the slimy grip to swing the screaming creature back into the chest of the newly-revealed leader.

Sliding to a stop on grass coated in the debris of three slaughtered oni, Sesshoumaru faced her new adversary. He was a hulking brute. Significantly larger than the others who all stood only a few heads above herself. This blue-skinned monstrosity stood several times Sesshoumaru's height. Dull yellow eyes shone with obsessive hatred for the one who'd slaughtered his pack. As the body of his companion slid down his massive torso, falling lifelessly to the ground at his feet, the oni bared pointed teeth and cracked massive claws, readying himself to destroy this intruder on his lands.

Sesshoumaru stood to her own full height, at least in this humanoid form. "You've yet to answer me, beast," she remarked as she brushed her bloodstained hair back behind her pointed ear, leaving a trail of crimson on her pale skin from her stained claws. "Do you possess the ability to speak?"

An ear-splitting roar echoed throughout the forest in answer to her nonchalant question. It appeared he was insulted by her inquiry with the evidence of his pack's obliteration laying at her feet and smearing her person. She narrowed her eyes at the bloody destruction promised in the monster's gaze.

"Would you care to join your companions," she asked, her normally deep voice lowered more until it was merely a whispered pulse. As proof, she lifted her right hand, claws prominently displayed. In case he any additional questions, she released a significant amount of her youki into the atmosphere as well. Storm clouds began gathering overhead in response to her change in the environment and the temperature of the cool night air dropped until puffs of condensation developed from the huge oni's panting lips.

After a few more moments with his sickly yellow eyes burning into hers, she saw his hunched shoulders drop in resignation. His massive arms fell to his sides and his head dropped in submission.

"What would you have me do?" His voice was thick and his words were difficult to decipher as if he rarely attempted to form them.

The stoic inuyoukai smiled as the last piece of her plan fell directly into place. It had gone smoother than she'd suspected. Assured of the massive oni's obedience, Sesshoumaru turned and floated above the trees and back toward the cliff edge she'd recently vacated. Stepping a foot on the solid ground, she answered the oni who was watching her from below. "Follow me."

**TBC…**

Annoying A/N-I want to thank all my wonderful reviewers. You are the reason I got around to putting up another chapter in less than forever.

Special thanx to:

_**Sira**_

_**Demitria Miriam**_

I hope you're ready for a surprise

_**Sparkangel**_

**_Miss War-chan_**

_**Princess Sin**_

you should see in the next chapter or so

_**Snowfall**_

You have no idea how much your reviews mean to me

_**Milimillions**_

_**Nikkie23534**_

Please, leave a review and let me know how I'm doing. Thanx.

Silence


	3. Chapter 3

_Warnings_: this chapter…um, violence and dissection of canon events and um, violence

_Disclaimer_: I do not own any Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, or anything related to anything in this story. Everything here is the property of Rumiko Takahashi

Chapter Three

Sesshoumaru watched her hair dance as it was silhouetted before the pale light of the full moon before her. Her perch stumbled and lurched unsteadily as she sat on the shoulder of the massive oni she'd procured the night before. Perhaps she should have considered a more graceful creature. They'd been traveling nearly all day and the daiyoukai suspected that if she had been any less of a being she'd be suffering from both nausea and a headache. She wouldn't admit that she wasn't far off from both as it was.

_Perhaps,_ she decided, _I should consider an alternate means of travel from now on_. To her left she heard the excited cackling of her traveling companion.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," he began excitedly.

_Please, don't say it. Please, just once, don't say it._

"We've arrived," the imp screeched, pointing out the obvious, and Sesshoumaru barely resisted the urge to wince. She did not, however, resist the urge to bring a closed fist down upon the squawking creature's skull. A slight rumble passing from the leathery skin she was using as her seat informed the white youkai that the oni found her predicament amusing. Well, when this was over she'd have to correct his assumption that he could find entertainment at her expense. If he survived that long, which she severely doubted.

"Jaken," she addressed her subordinate, "be silent."

"O-of course, Master," the imp stuttered before realizing his very assent was disobeying her. Sesshoumaru watched in amusement as his face blanched; turning a rather pale tone of green, the brown markings on his skin becoming that much more pronounced. Smiling slightly--an action which served to terrify silence in the tiny youkai beside her--Sesshoumaru turned back to the moon they seemed to be nearing. Another gust of wind blew her hair around her once more, and again she watched the display the strands made as they fluttered over the pale image.

She was doing the imp a disservice and she knew it. Perhaps she shouldn't have struck him. It was the imp's doing that she was engaged in this little reconnaissance mission to gain her father's coveted power. It was only through Jaken that she'd learned of the hanyou's awakening and only through Jaken that she'd learned of its current whereabouts. Although she'd had the vague idea of where the creature had been sealed for the last several decades--the area being named 'Inuyasha's Forest' had been a big hint--she'd assumed he would flee the area after being awakened. It was what a reasonable creature of limited strength would do. Fleeing the place of one's capture in order to prevent recapture. But she'd had no real idea of what the creature's intelligence or instincts would lead it to do.

She'd never felt any particular interest in the hanyou that marked her father's shame. The boy was her father's problem, not hers. And her father's passing did not mean she would accept that responsibility. It's not as if a creature born with such a liability as human blood could actually survive. So she'd paid little attention to the hanyou's activities. Less than a half-dozen times had she run across the boy and not once had she'd been impressed. The last she remembered, it had been little more than a toddler. Fluffy white hair she suspected was actually fur made it look like little more than a white ball of fuzz wrapped in red clothes and topped with tiny, twitching ears. But, for all that it was a helpless, ridiculous looking creature, it was loud, boisterous, and full of undeserved pride.

Only by accident had she heard that it had been caught under a miko's curse. Some ridiculous story that it had fallen in love. If that was the truth, then it was probably better off anyway. And if the boy was susceptible to such a weakness than it deserved its fate. _Because only the weak fall in love_.

The daiyoukai was well aware that she was biased toward that opinion because she would never be able to experience love herself. Convincing the world that she was male tended to drive off any men who might be looking for a life-mate. And even if they knew her true gender, she was not a normal woman. Although she disguised herself into a man's form, her personality was quite real. She'd been raised to be strong and decisive. Maintaining control over her territories had made her cold and impersonal, some would even say cruel and vicious. In a word, she was powerful. Not like the weak-willed and simpering women that populated hers and every other species. From the moment she'd first bound her breasts and took the position of a man, she'd known she'd doomed herself to a lonely life.

And she knew envy was one reason she looked down upon love. Of that, she refused to lie to herself. However, there were plenty of other, more legitimate, reasons to scorn the emotion and those who would fall prey to it. Many men claimed a love that seemed to be so fickle. They would love one woman and then, in a heartbeat, turn around and love another. To the cynical daiyoukai, it seemed love was simply an excuse to rut. And being a _inu_youkai, Sesshoumaru didn't quite understand the need for an excuse, although she did understand some species placed a higher regard on physical intimacy. Like wolves, who mated for life.

But worse were the leaders who took love more seriously then just a drive to rut. They were the ones who cast aside responsibilities such as duty and family and even honor in the cursed name of love. Her father had been an example of such. Becoming more and more enamored with his human bitch until he'd ignored his territories and it was Sesshoumaru who kept back intruders and challengers in her father's name. He'd even given up Sesshoumaru's training, telling her that she was as trained as she could get and only experience would make her power grow. _Experience, my ass_, she thought more than a little bitterly. _He just didn't want to waste his time with me anymore._ By the time the little monstrosity was born, her great and terrible father had been spending so much time fitting in with humans he was little better than they were. Love had made the powerful daiyoukai lose his mind. Ultimately, this weakness had even caused his death.

It was this insanity that must have caused the great Inu no Taisho to hide Sesshoumaru's inheritance from her. And perhaps his newfound human sentimentality that might have caused him to leave a clue with what remained of his great love affair with the human woman. A tinge of excitement and nervousness pulsed through the youkai's body as she contemplated how close she might be to actually finding the damn tomb. And although the inuyoukai couldn't see the hanyou through the thick cloud cover that was beginning to form, she could see the Mu-Onna acting out her part. Ahead of the inuyoukai, who stayed perched on the oni's shoulder, a carriage floated, seemingly drawn by otherworldly steeds. In the back rode the Mu-Onna, the lesser youkai disguised in the image of the human woman the Inu no Taisho had supposedly loved. Around them, she was beginning to cast out her illusions. Sesshoumaru waited impatiently for the dark-haired woman's signal to move into the field herself. After a few moments, she heard it.

"Inuyasha," the dark-haired woman cried out in a voice that was eerily similar to the one that sometimes haunted Sesshoumaru's memories.

Digging a poisoned claw into the thick cords of the platysma muscle running up the oni's neck, the daiyoukai whispered a command.

"Attack."

Sesshoumaru didn't even bother to look down at the boy she could now smell below her, instead keeping her eyes on the Mu-Onna as the oni carried out her command. The woman's fake brown eyes widened in real shock as the oni's massive claws crushed through her illusionary carriage. Okay, so maybe Sesshoumaru hadn't been entirely truthful about what she planned but, the less the Mu-Onna knew about exactly how the daiyoukai would provoke the hanyou, the more believable her performance would be. The shape-shifting youkai wasn't the only expert on creating illusions.

The white inuyoukai was quite impressed with the soul-stealing youkai's performance as she watched the false woman dangle from the clawed fingers of the blue oni's fist, elaborate kimonos and phony chains fluttering around her. But the daiyoukai's assessment of the other woman's illusions was disrupted by an enraged scream from below and an answering blast of flame from her left. A streak of white and red angled away from the flames to land on the scorched grass below while Sesshoumaru glared at the small youkai at her side.

"Jaken," she snapped, getting the imp's attention as battle lust began to fill the small body. "We must speak to him _before_ we kill him, remember?" Shame spread across the small youkai's face and his hands trembled around the still-smoking Nintoujou.

"Of courses, Master," the imp replied before looking back down at the field, a sadistic grin quickly replacing his shamed grimace.

It was another shout from below that finally drew Sesshoumaru's attention to her true goal.

"You bastard!" a white-maned hanyou screamed from below. "It's you, isn't it? Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru didn't let a muscle move out of place on her face as several surprises assaulted her at once. This boy standing defensively beneath her was no longer just a boy. He was nearly a man. Sometime in the last century since she'd seen him, the hanyou had grown up. He still had that white hair and those silly ears--he was even still wearing the fire-rat outfit Father had gifted him with--but he was no longer a ball of fuzz. That fluffy hair lay against golden, toned skin and golden eyes glared up at her with apparent intelligence. Somewhere along the line, he must have gone through adolescent awkwardness because now he appeared to be growing out of it, the baby-roundness of his face beginning to thin.

She was also surprised to hear that he not only remembered who she was, but actually recognized her. Well, that made things easier. No introductions would be required.

"Congratulations," the daiyoukai commented as her eyes locked onto a pair so alike yet so different from her own. "It appears you remember your elder brother's face."

A flash of something close to amusement sparked in those expressive golden eyes and it was only belatedly that Sesshoumaru realized that she'd been so caught up in examining her brother's features that she'd missed that he wasn't alone. Hiding behind the almost-grown hanyou was a simpering _human_ girl. The frightening daiyoukai sent a frigid glare at the girl and smiled as she heard the mortal's heartbeat increase and breathing almost stop. Just like all the other humans, a coward.

"How precious," she commented, a sardonic smile still gracing her face, "you've picked up a human girl."

Sesshoumaru listened as the girl's already accelerated heartbeat picked up further but, surprisingly, not out of terror.

"You got a problem with that?" the mortal girl shouted, sending back a glare of her own.

_Interesting_, the youkai thought as she watch the girl tremble in anger instead of fear. _There is something different about this one. No matter._

"How fitting that an abomination such as you would be accompanying a human," she remarked to the hanyou below, ignoring the human girl's question and presence entirely. Just because the girl was an odd example of a mortal didn't mean she was worthy of this Sesshoumaru's notice. All that mattered here was finding her father's tomb. So now that everyone was reacquainted, back to work.

Sesshoumaru reached down and grabbed a handful of the chains still flopping around the Mu-Onna's form. Finding one that wrapped conveniently around the woman's neck--_she is good with these illusions_--Sesshoumaru pulled the creature's head back. The illusionary mother gazed with tear-filled eyes down to her supposed only son.

"Especially since your mother was a pathetic human," the inuyoukai continued while pulling the chains tighter in anger that was only partially feigned, "who brought shame upon Father and our family."

A low growl reached the youkai's ears and the hanyou appeared to be losing his temper. Perfect. An interrogation is so much easier when the subject cannot control himself.

"Sesshoumaru," the hanyou growled in a voice that was so rich with anger and masculine power, the youkai was actually rather impressed, "you better not have come all this way just to fuckin' insult me." Wow, that was almost threatening.

"Of course not, stupid hanyou," she answered, releasing the woman's chains and crossing her arms back into her sleeves, "if I had the spare time, this Sesshoumaru wouldn't waste it on you." Leaning forward slightly, the white inuyoukai dropped her sarcastic smile and all sadistic playfulness left her deepened voice, "I came so you could tell me where to find Father's tomb."

Anger fled the hanyou's face as he just stared up at her for a moment and Sesshoumaru wondered if something had short-circuited in the creature's mind. It had to happen some time, after all. It would be really bad timing if it happened _now_, however.

"Father's tomb?" the hanyou repeated as he continued to stand there for a moment.

_Oh no, not another person who just repeats what I say,_ the white inuyoukai thought as she watched the hanyou watch her. _I'm still trying to break Jaken of that_.

Then the hanyou stepped back and smiled at her. A sadistic grin that almost rivaled hers--as proved when she felt the imp step behind her as if she were a shield--crossed the hanyou's face.

"I dunno," the white-maned hanyou laughed at her. "I don't have a clue." Fear, doubt, and _anger_ ran through the youkai's veins at the mere suggestion that this was a fool's errand. Sesshoumaru wanted to wipe that victorious look off the beast's face, and with her claws, it was a bloody possibility. After Sesshoumaru took a moment to calm her throbbing pulse and control her rapid breathing, she smiled back down at the hanyou--showing him the face of true cruelty. And reminding him that nobody fucked with Sesshoumaru.

"Is that so," she all but purred, "then I guess I have no choice. Your pathetic mother will just have to suffer." Again, she thrust poisoned claws into the oni's flesh and watched as his fist tightened around the Mu-Onna's body. Now would be the moment that decided how successfully the minor youkai had convinced the half-grown hanyou that she was truly his mother.

But then the infuriating creature laughed as he watched the image of his mother become contorted, her torso twisting back into a position no mortal could survive.

"Fucking bastard," he called out, "just how stupid do you think I am?"

_Well, I _was_ hoping…_

"Mom died years ago…that's a fucking fake," he finished. And in those eyes was pain. Sesshoumaru watched them for a moment, hardly worried for her plan--this had been prepared for, after all. But those eyes held a hurt that went beyond the hanyou's words. Much more than watching the perceived image of a mother go through unimaginable pain. After all, he believed she wasn't real. What was it that put such pain in those eyes? Not that she particularly cared. There were many things the daiyoukai could claim curiosity about but the hanyou's eyes were not among them. And as such, she snapped herself back to the matter at hand.

"You truly are an idiot," the inuyoukai commented, mocking smile still perfectly in place. "How you have managed to survive this long confounds me. You see, just for your pathetic benefit, this Sesshoumaru brought your mother's soul back from the land of the dead. I even gave her a body."

"No!" the hanyou responded in denial. But he was clearly considering it, Sesshoumaru could see the horror on his face as the hanyou realized that he could truly be watching his mother be slaughtered.

The daiyoukai watched as the Mu-Onna reached out a hand, stretching it toward her son--or should she say meal--in a desperate plea for help. "Inuyasha…" the woman breathed just loud enough for the youkai and hanyou to hear and the inuyoukai had to give the shape-shifter credit. This torture wasn't the fraud the lesser youkai had been told it would be; Sesshoumaru just wanted to make it more realistic than that. Yet the woman was still fulfilling her part flawlessly.

"Please, don't worry about me," the tormented woman gasped, amazingly through both smiles and tears, "I've been through this before. A second death…is nothing."

Watching the hanyou's indecision in the face of such marvelous acting was beginning to wear on the inuyoukai's patience and, once more, she thrust poisoned claws into the oni's forearm. The Mu-Onna let out a marvelous scream of tortured agony as she was crushed in the oni's fist. Finally, it was enough to make the hanyou act.

"Shit," he growled as he leaped into the air to rescue his supposed mother. Sesshoumaru watched in some amusement as the hanyou even drew his claws back to attack. Who knew the creature had claws?

"Sankon Tessou!" screamed the white-haired hanyou as he shredded through the oni's arm letting the broken figure fall to the ground. The oni screamed in agony, but Sesshoumaru just watched. Everything was going just fine; the abomination had just rescued his mother and now everything was in the hands of the Mu-Onna. Closing her ears to the bellowing oni, the youkai reminded herself that the oni had been expendable anyway. Too bad she hadn't figured in how much noise it could make.

On the ground, that mortal girl was trying to rouse the Mu-Onna.

"Kagome!" the hanyou shouted down at them, "take Mom and get outta here!"

"No one leaves," Sesshoumaru commanded, her artificial voice booming over all the commotion. Leaping away from the enraged oni, Jaken digging those grubby fingers into her pelt, Sesshoumaru gave it the order to attack. And yet, just as the oni reached down to finish off the small group, a burst of light engulfed them. When the blast cleared, the Mu-Onna, the hanyou, and the mortal girl were gone.

"Jaken," she stated above the roaring of the oni, "follow them."

"B-but, Master," the imp stammered, "how will I get there?" As expected, a sharp, narrowed glare silenced any further questions from the vulnerable youkai. "Of course," he gulped, "right away." Letting go of Sesshoumaru's fur, the little creature scrambled off in search of the Mu-Onna's illusion. As soon as the imp was headed in the right direction, Sesshoumaru turned back to the still-bellowing oni.

"Silence!" she barked, her order echoing far above and beyond the tiresome beast's roars. And yet, the exasperating creature continued its bellowing. "If you do not cease that infernal noise this second," she started, floating up before the enraged creature's face, "I shall silence you myself."

Apparently forgetting their previous encounter, the oni swung out at the airborne inuyoukai with its remaining arm. "How am I supposed to survive," it raged, "with just one arm? That fucking brat broke off my arm!"

"Are you so weak you cannot manage with such a minor inconvenience?" the white youkai remarked as she easily dodged the wild blow. "If you are truly so pathetic then this Sesshoumaru shall take pity on you."

At her words, the oni finally quieted and the inuyoukai wondered if the blue-skinned monstrosity realized what kind of 'pity' she would have to offer. Sesshoumaru watched the trees tremble as the ground shook when the oni grabbed his bleeding stump and collapsed to his knees. "Please," the creature begged, "please, help me."

Even on his knees, the creature towered above the inuyoukai as she landed softly before him. Levitating herself a few feet off the ground the inuyoukai inspected the rib cage of the beast before her. "Pathetic," she stated as she finally thrust her poisoned claws through the oni's ribs and straight into his heart.

A heavy injection of the acidic venom straight into the creature's circulatory system allowed the poison to pass quickly, if painfully, through the massive body. He jerked back one last time, roaring his agony to the skies. Sesshoumaru slid out of the way, flipping the creature's rancid blood from her arm, as the beast finally collapsed into death.

"Be careful whom you ask for help," she advised the massive corpse as she followed her imp's steps toward the Mu-Onna's illusionary world.

Annoying A/N-I'm embarrassed by my last chapter, but I'm not going to rewrite it and I hope this one begins to make up for it. However, since my husband has pointed out that my battle scene descriptions in chapter two sucked, I've rewritten small parts of it and reposted it for anyone who wants to reread it. If you don't, don't worry about it. Nothing big changed, just some descriptions.

Also, I want to thank my wonderful reviewers, you're all so nice, even when I don't deserve it.

Special thanx to:

_**Miss War-Chan**_

_**Demitria Miriam**_

_**Sparkangel**_

_**Lady Yueh**_

Thank you to everyone who has read this so far and please review and let me know how I'm doing.

Silence


	4. Chapter 4

_Warning_: language, inucest, and violence

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, or anything related to either one. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi

Chapter Four

_l---l_

Unhurried, even steps brought the daiyoukai to the edge of a small steam beside a rotting battlefield. _Stupid mortals and their stupid wars_, she thought as she noticed how the decay from the spoiling bodies had poisoned the land and waters. It would take time before the earth was able to absorb this damage and, in the meantime, the lands and waters were unusable by either mortal or mystical beings. Except, of course, creatures like the Mu-Onna. It just figured the lesser youkai would transport the hanyou to a place such as this, a place of human suffering.

"Have you found it yet?" she heard from a bit further upstream. "Have you found the location of their father's tomb?" The imp sounded anxious, this did not bode well. The Mu-Onna had had plenty of time to obtain the location from the hanyou. Either the illusion had failed and the Mu-Onna was unable to get the information from him, or the young man truly didn't know where it was. Either way, Sesshoumaru's chest was feeling tight as she slowly approached the location where the others were. Taloned hands clenched until she felt the sharp points of claws beginning to dig into the soft flesh of her palms. She could _not_ fail to find the tomb now. It was so close she could nearly taste the power.

It was the sound of the hanyou's voice that kept the daiyoukai from completing her arrival and slaughtering everyone on the scene in a fit of frustration she would likely regret later. It was a soft sound, seeming much younger than the boisterous gruff shouts the hanyou had used earlier. It seemed…sad, somehow.

"The right," the hanyou whispered so softly the youkai almost needed to strain to hear it. "Black pearl…"

_A black pearl_, Sesshoumaru mused, stopping out of eyesight but well within hearing range of the small group. Well, that would certainly explain a few things. The tight, invisible bonds that had griped the inuyoukai's chest vanished and a shiver of both relief and excitement passed through her. For the first time in two hundred years, she was getting somewhere. Anticipation tingled along her skin and she felt her palms dampen and her chest flutter as her brain registered that she'd finally gotten close to the tomb. Remaining out of eyesight, the stoic daiyoukai took several deep breaths of the cool night air, hoping to calm herself enough so that she wouldn't visibly tremble.

So, now that she knew _what_ she was looking for, she only had to find _where._ And her father had apparently entrusted this information to the hanyou. And she had promised said hanyou as lunch to the soul-sucking creature ahead. Damn. And even worse, while she'd been celebrating her new-found information, the squawking youkai she called an assistant had fallen silent. As much as she hated the sound of the small beast's voice--and the fact that he never shut up--it was always trouble when he was quiet. Obviously, she'd missed something important.

A few additional footsteps brought everything into the white youkai's view. The Mu-Onna had apparently assumed she'd fulfilled her part of this bargain. She had already abandoned her human façade, which was something of a relief to Sesshoumaru. It was disconcerting to look into the face of her father's former lover, someone the youkai tried not to blame for her father's weakness and subsequent death. Some things were better left in the past.

But the hanyou wasn't doing well at all. In fact, all the daiyoukai could see of the young man her brother had become was a tuft of a white mane and one red-clad, claw-tipped hand. The rest had been absorbed by the Mu-Onna's form. The human girl who had accompanied the hanyou here was yanking on that bit of exposed fur as though she could drag him from the depths of the Mu-Onna's influence. After a moment, her keen, golden eyes spied the form of Jaken, laying in pained unconsciousness in the stream's foul water with the Nintoujou several lengths away. Such incompetence. Really, why did she bother?

And this whole scene left her with a small dilemma. The hanyou was clearly the key to finding her father's tomb, and the subsequent treasure and power it held. Somewhere in the space beneath those defective ears was the location of the tomb. Perhaps he'd whispered it while the youkai had been composing herself and she could strip the secret from either Jaken or the Mu-Onna. In fact, now that she knew she was looking for a black pearl versus a burial ground, she could probably find it herself. But could she take the chance? Perhaps he hadn't whispered it, did she really want to spend another two centuries searching for a tiny jewel? That may be more difficult that looking for a non-existent tomb. But her only other option was to rescue the hanyou from the Mu-Onna's grasp, and she really, _really_ didn't want to do that.

There was, of course, a matter of honor involved. Sesshoumaru had promised the Mu-Onna the boy's soul in exchange for the illusionary youkai's services. It would be disgraceful to go back on one's word. But that didn't really bother Sesshoumaru as much as she would have liked. She was not her father. He was all about honor; she was all about results. If the Mu-Onna stood in the daiyoukai's way, then she would be destroyed--promise or no promise. But was it really right to rescue a creature who deserved to be devoured? After all, he'd gotten caught. That was a hunter's rule regarding prey. If it didn't deserve to be eaten, it wouldn't have gotten itself caught. The foolish half-man had believed the Mu-Onna's illusion and was paying for it. Was it right to condemn the world with such stupidity by rescuing him?

But, ultimately, the burden was taken from her as the daiyoukai watched the girl destroy the illusions which bound the hanyou to the lesser youkai's spells. _And with the Nintoujou, no less_, the inuyoukai thought with disgust as the girl used the two-headed staff to break the surface of the water again and again. _Someday, I'm going to have to figure out what I keep that damn imp for_. As the reflections on the water's surface broke into a colliding swirl of ripples, the Mu-Onna's influence over the unconscious young man vanished. Quite dramatically, the hanyou was released from the Mu-Onna's body, ending up in a disheveled heap on the battle-tainted ground. Sesshoumaru gazed for a moment at the pile of white fur and red fabric, which shifted itself as limbs unfolded. Finally righting himself, the youkai could hear the hanyou growling softly as he glared at the Mu-Onna with hate-filled eyes.

Sesshoumaru watched those eyes as the mortal girl rushed to the hanyou and he murmured responses to her. Those eerie eyes that captured the light of the wide moon making them glow in the night. They were wide and so full of expression it was almost as if another world could lay within…another world…

_A place you can see, but cannot be seen. A place The Guardian can never see._

"Shit!" the hanyou half-growled and half-shouted. "It was all a fucking lie!"

"Inuyasha," the youkai stated as she approached the crouching two from behind, "I have discovered where to find Father's tomb." Before the young man had an opportunity to turn and attack, Sesshoumaru appeared at his side. Taloned fingers wrapped around the exposed neck as the daiyoukai lifted the hanyou to his feet and up some more until he dangled from her deadly grip. A soft cry came from the mortal girl beside the siblings but she was easily ignored.

The clawed tip of her thumb dug into the hanyou's neck, directly over the vein which could bleed the body dry in a matter of minutes if ruptured. It was no surprise that the young man knew to keep perfectly still in order to prevent the claw from puncturing flesh. In fact, Sesshoumaru barely detected breath passing through the firm, smooth body in her grip. Finally close to the hanyou for the first time, the white youkai smirked as he glared at her with those golden eyes. This close she could see that they were darker than hers, flecked with tiny streaks of chestnut that spread from his slitted pupil and across the iris. And they were narrowed in a way that seemed almost unnatural on such a smooth and guileless face.

"To think," she commented, gazing deeply into those eyes and smirking at the anger smoldering within, "that Father could find such an obscure place to hide it that even this Sesshoumaru would be unable to find it." Beneath her fingers, she felt a growl form from the inuhanyou's throat, transmitting a satisfying vibration up her arm. "He certainly picked an odd place," she commented mildly, "and an odd guardian."

The low rumble in the younger man's throat grew to a full snarl as he spit out, "You fucking bastard, Sesshoumaru."

"The right, black pearl," she continued, ignoring the hanyou's outburst as she narrowed her gaze on one dark, golden eye--the right one, to be specific. "So he sealed his tomb _there_. Well, that certainly kept it safe."

A tanned hand tipped with short but vicious claws grasped the wrist she was using to hold the hanyou. Digging those claws into the pale flesh of her wrist, the young man tried to wrench the pale hand from his neck. "Bastard," he coughed again, "are you still babbling about that tomb shit? 'Cause I told you I don't know anything." The voice was sneering, filled with anger and betrayal. Strangely, the eyes Sesshoumaru was studying so closely mirrored the emotions. Why would the hanyou be feeling betrayed? He shouldn't have any reason to expect kindness from her. She had been apathetic to him at best. And she could certainly be much worse.

"I suppose that's true," she answered him. "Perhaps you know nothing. It appears it was entrusted to you without your knowledge." Ignoring the grip the young male had on her right wrist, Sesshoumaru raised her left hand. "In that case, perhaps you would like to accompany your elder brother," she started as she poised those deadly digits before his face, "and we shall visit Father's tomb together." As the last words escaped her mouth, the white youkai plunged the first two fingers of her hand into the small pupil of the hanyou's right eye. Spreading her fingers slightly and ignoring the pained cries from her brother, she stretched the opening and pushed deeper until a smooth surface brushed along the sensitive pad of one finger. Twisting and pushing until she had buried her fingers up to the second knuckle, she maneuvered the tiny object between her claws and pulled. A sickening pop sounded as her fingers pulled free of the small opening, clutching the dark, gore-covered pearl between them.

The human girl screamed out protestations as Sesshoumaru dropped the hanyou to the ground. The youkai trembled in barely contained excitement as she palmed the precious jewel, wanting to never let it go. "No matter how hard I searched for a burial ground, I couldn't find one," she explained, somewhat to the hanyou lying at her feet but mostly to herself. "I only had one hint, a riddle. _A place you can see,_ _but_ _cannot be seen. A place The Guardian can never see._" The hanyou growled at her, clutching his bleeding eye but Sesshoumaru barely noticed as she opened her hand to behold the object she'd searched for since her father's death. "And all this time, it was hidden in your right eye."

"Bastard," the hanyou snarled as he pushed himself to his feet. Sesshoumaru glanced over to him, somewhat amazed that the creature was still willing to stand up to her even after she'd removed a significant portion of his eye. Unwittingly, she had to admire his perseverance--if not his intelligence--as she gazed at his determined face, the evidence of his last bout congealing around his injured eye socket. "All for that fucking rock you made a fake of my _mother_?"

A reminder of the Mu-Onna caused Sesshoumaru to glance over in the lesser youkai's direction. She still knelt on the ground, using all four limbs to keep from collapsing completely. It appeared the trauma of having her meal torn from her had sapped her strength. Yet, even weakened, the illusion youkai seemed affronted by the hanyou's assertion that she was a fake. The creature certainly had possession issues.

And while the white youkai seemed momentarily distracted, the hanyou leapt forward with claws outstretched and ready to attack. Only to learn that Sesshoumaru was never _that_ distracted.

"I'll _kill_ you for that," the young man growled as he landed, sweeping out with his claws and expecting to tear through his elder sibling's torso. Only she was no longer there. Using speed the pathetic hanyou could only dream off, Sesshoumaru leapt into the air to hover over her enraged brother. For a moment, she simply watched as anger melted into confusion at her disappearance before she spoke and drew his attention.

"I'm in a hurry," she stated, letting a smile grace her features, "so if you're going to get in my way, I'll have to kill you." Sesshoumaru raised her own claws, the sound of her knuckles cracking and the deceptively sweet scent of her poison filling the air. Uncertainty and fear dilated the uninjured pupil of his left eye as the hanyou fell back and waited for the youkai's strike. Sesshoumaru could see his hope of avoiding or deflecting the attack had faded and resignation seemed to still the young man's limbs. It made her almost regret what she was going to do next. Pushing off the intangible air currents, she passed the boy, swinging her claws to cleave him in two. The heavy scent of blood and bodily fluids filled the air as her talons caught on thick layers of fabric before sinking into soft flesh and sinew.

Landing softly a few lengths away, Sesshoumaru turned to gaze at the evidence of her slaughter. Through the red mist however, the inuyoukai saw the shredded remains of the Mu-Onna instead of her hanyou brother. The young man was still laying where the youkai had last seen him, draped in ragged strands of delicate silk and a spray of blood. His expressive eyes were wide in shock and disbelief. Beside him sat that human girl who Sesshoumaru was beginning to find quite an annoying creature. The girl's face was skewed in a mask of confusion and anger. Tears of sorrow were forming in large, grey eyes. This simpering girl represented everything the daiyoukai resented in the females of any species. Pathetic weakness. To the side, was the decapitated skull of the treacherous youkai who'd dare come between the inuyoukai and her prey.

"My…boy…" the dying creature wheezed as the last strands of strength and youki slipped from the woman's form. _So the false woman felt the need to thwart this Sesshoumaru's will, did she?_ the daiyoukai mussed as she approached the deformed head. _She thought to protect that which I had marked for death,_ rage grew with each step toward the minor youkai's remains, _she wished to steal back that which had escaped her_. Sesshoumaru didn't halt when she reached the Mu-Onna's side. All it took was one final step and the daiyoukai felt the skull crush with a wet crack before her booted foot sunk into the mush of the creature's brain.

"Worthless fool," the white youkai gave in eulogy ignoring the mortal girl's screams of outrage before pulling her foot from the bloody remains. Not only had the Mu-Onna failed in her duty to wrest the location of the tomb from the boy--after all, it was Sesshoumaru who had discerned the location and retrieved the pearl still nestled in palm of her hand--but the Mu-Onna had also lost control of her fragile illusions and lost her prey. Each of those was an offense punishable by death. And that was before the bitch had interfered in Sesshoumaru's attack. Yes, destroying the Mu-Onna had been a therapeutic exercise. Yet, the cool, smooth weight in her palm reminded her that this mission had been a success, not a failure. The death of the hanyou was not a requirement. In fact, at this point it was a distraction.

As if on cue, the grass rustled to Sesshoumaru's left and the shrill tone of her lackey's voice pierced her ears. "Sesshoumaru-sama," the imp screeched and the youkai wished she could pin her ears to her head as she noticed her brother was doing, "I have retrieved the Nintoujou." After losing the two-headed staff, the undeserved pride in the small youkai's voice ground on the little patience the white daiyoukai was maintaining.

"The next time you lose it," she stated calmly, a casual tone that caused the imp to clutch the staff with whitened knuckles, "I will kill you." Sesshoumaru reached down and plucked the staff from the creature's grubby hands, amused as she watched fear paralyze that beaky, leathery face. She assumed the small beast was wondering if that counted as losing the staff and she could smell the hormones his pores were releasing as panic flooded his system. It was always so amusing to watch a creature resign itself to a bloody fate. Although, in this case she had something better to do than terrify her underling.

"I've been waiting for this for so long," she murmured, bringing the black pearl up before her eyes. The moonlight glistened off its reflective exterior, initiating a swirl of color just below the surface. It was beautiful in its dark simplicity, and yet no one could ever guess just how much importance this tiny jewel contained within. With one last, almost-loving glance, Sesshoumaru tossed the black orb into the air only to watch it float gently to the rocky ground at her feet.

Her sensitive ears picked up the tiny _tink_ as the jewel struck the rocky earth. Her pulse throbbed in her chest until it was all she could hear as she raised the Nintoujou high over her head and brought it down to strike the pearl. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the creaky, old man bound to the staff opened his mouth. The sound of his harsh cackling reverberated through the suddenly silent valley.

"The old man is laughing," Jaken gasped and, for once, Sesshoumaru couldn't have cared less that he was restating what was clearly in front of her. "The tomb is opening."

The pearl suddenly pulsed, then exploded in a flash of black light. Ancient magic and a trace of her father's familiar youki swirled around her, creating a wind so intense her hair lifted and tangled in waves around her, joining with the snapping flaps of her large silken sleeves. Her heart slowed as she was enveloped in the growing trails of her father's youki. The familiar touch left her with a feeling of peace, contentment, and safety that she hadn't felt since the great daiyoukai's death. She closed her eyes and let the empowered energy run over her, through her, leaving her skin tingling until she was no longer aware of the world around her. She could see no light from beneath her closed lids, could hear no sound beyond the roar of swirling magic and wind.

There was a slight tugging as though her soul was being wrenched and then everything was still.

"Se-Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken's voice was unsteady and the imp was clutching at the white silk of her hakama. The white inuyoukai opened her eyes to see that they had been transported to another world. More specifically, the world between worlds. The sparkling white bones of countless youkai littered the ground around her. So much so, in fact, that they _were_ the ground around her. Above her head was the swirling black vortex that they had apparently been transported through. The sky was dotted with the skeletons of ancient birds, winging their way through this boney landscape. It was no wonder that the small imp was frightened. He served a powerful daiyoukai because he had neither the strength nor the skill to defend himself.

"Come, Jaken," she stated as her eyes were drawn to the massive corpse lording over this world of the dead. She released a wisp of youki into the air, forming it and giving it strength. A rush of icy wind blew her hair and Jaken realized her intentions just in time to grab her pelt as she lifted into the air on a cushion of fashioned fog.

The imp buried himself in her copious fur as the inuyoukai approached the immense figure, her eyes attached to the fanged skull. She heard the tiny beak chattering as she rose passed the gaping maw ringed with teeth larger than she. Exactly what the small imp thought this lifeless corpse was going to do to him, she wasn't sure but it was rather amusing that her father could still inspire such fear. She levitated to a height directly between the large sockets that had once contained eyes more familiar to her than her own. Bringing herself within touching distance, she rested a pale hand on the smooth bone.

"Father," she whispered, a small prayer of worship to the man who'd raised her. A youkai feared by every being in the west and most of the rest of Nihon, yet who she loved more than her very self. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, letting the silky lengths of her bangs brush across her cheeks. With her golden eyes tucked safely behind her lids, she could pretend her trembling fingers were tucked into soft fur which covered warm flesh and blood instead of stroking cool, lifeless bone.

A shifting against the silk of her hakama forced her to open her eyes and end the ridiculous fantasy. She pulled her hand from the skull before her, a simple remnant of the great youkai who had been her father. Jaken peeked his beaked nose from behind her leg, trying to steal a glance at the one who his master had just declared as 'Father'.

"Is this your great father?" the small youkai asked, hoping to learn something of his master's past. For a moment, Sesshoumaru remained silent.

"No," she answered, finally. "Father died centuries ago, this is the remains of his corpse. There is nothing of him here. Let's go, a treasure waits."

Before the small youkai could see the lie to her words, that she did sense something of her father in these dusty remains, Sesshoumaru directed them into the eye socket of the skull. It was a strange feeling, entering the inner depths of a youkai, even a dead one. Rather like being eaten, an experience she was quite certain she'd never have.

But in a matter of moments, the feeling was gone. Eclipsed by a sense of longing and satisfaction and awe. In the deepest depths of her father's remains, a cavernous space lit by an otherworldly light, was a golden alter. The very object she'd been searching for since the great daiyoukai's untimely death, the symbol of everything that had been respected and feared about the great inuyoukai, the key to inheriting her great father's power, stood unassumingly in the center of the pedestal. The sword was shabby, the hilt worn and tattered, the blade dull and chipped. It seemed out of place, displayed on such an elaborate alter. As if someone had taken whatever truly belonged there and left this as a joke. But Sesshoumaru knew better.

"I have found it," she whispered, as if saying so would make it true instead of a dream. "I have managed to find you at last, Tessaiga. I have searched long and hard for you," she continued, her mouth growing dry as her palms dampened and her fingertips twitched. "And here you are, the great blade hidden away in Father's remains." Two careful steps brought her to the podium's side and the great sword was less than an arm length away. "A sword possessing the power to destroy a hundred youkai in a single swing. The great fang, Tessaiga."

"It is carved from your great father's fang, is it not, Master?" the small imp piped, but Sesshoumaru barely heard him over her own pounding pulse. "Taking this is like inheriting your great father's unlimited power…" the imp echoed into words the thoughts which had been carving paths in her mind for two hundred years.

_Yes_, she answered in her mind the question he'd spoken aloud as she reached out her hand to finally grasp her father's treasured sword. Long, pale fingers wrapped around the soft hilt, tracing the fabric worn by her father's palm. For a heartbeat, it seemed as though she were, once again, holding her father's hand and she felt his power tease the flesh of her palm. But only for a heartbeat. In the next, she felt unimaginable pain as the sword lashed out at her.

White arcs of energy danced up her arm, licking her flesh and leaving vicious marks that went much deeper than the skin. Blue flames grew from the shredded wrappings around the hilt to surround her hand. She heard the screeching of the small imp and briefly wondered what, exactly, he expected to accomplish. Quickly, she released the blade, watching as tiny blue flames continued to flicker between the webbing of her fingers. As they died down and the burns on her hand began to heal, she looked back at the innocent-looking blade. A feeling of despair and, strangely, betrayal began to take root beneath her breasts.

"Wh-what!" Jaken stuttered unbelievably behind her. "I-it failed to come out!" And Sesshoumaru was much too surprised to glare at him for pointing out the disaster facing her.

"How cautious of him," she stated, her voice sounding hollow even to her own ears. "He has placed a barrier on it…a spiritual barrier." _I can't even touch it_. She watched as the flames engulfing her hand flickered out and the burns instantly healed. Perhaps, she should try again. Maybe the barrier would only affect her once. Maybe she only had to hold it longer. Maybe Father was testing her, testing her desire. Maybe…maybe, Father was denying her.

She nearly stretched her hand back to the sword again, ready to risk additional burns--ready to risk purification--just to prove that her great father would not deny her his power, her inheritance. The one thing he had raised her for. The one thing that she had groomed herself to have, that she'd worked for and sacrificed for. As she moved her hand toward the sword she realized this wasn't even about the damn sword--after all he'd just had it made shortly before his death--it was about his acceptance of her. But damnit, he was dead; she didn't need his acceptance but she would have this sword.

"_Sesshoumaru!_"

The white inuyoukai snapped her head around. She'd been so caught up in her reflections of the damn sword she hadn't even noticed the hanyou's arrival. Hadn't she left them on the other side of the portal?

The young man was leaping, rather gracefully, down the ribs of their father's tomb. That mortal girl was riding his back, rather like he was a pack horse. _How ironic, a mortal woman desecrating Father's tomb_, Sesshoumaru thought as she watched the white-maned inuhanyou carefully situate the girl on a sturdy rib with an outcropping of overgrowth for her to clutch.

"I ain't done with you yet!" the hanyou shouted once the girl was safe. _Safe, indeed_, Sesshoumaru scoffed softly at the concept. No one except she was safe within this land of the dead. Perhaps it was the small smile that spurred the hanyou to attack, or maybe that was his intention all along. "_Sankon Tessou!_" the young man cried out, the young, clear voice echoing and amplifying in the sparse, cavernous space. He lunged at her, claws outstretched.

Moving faster than the hanyou could see, Sesshoumaru dodged the attack. The young man landed right where she had been standing, claws digging a huge furrow in the bone-scattered floor.

"Why, hello, Inuyasha," she greeted politely from her perch atop the golden alter. She peered down at him as he crouched in the trench dug by his own attack. "Did you come to dig yourself a grave?" she asked, amusement evident in her voice. Perhaps he could be a decent distraction from the life-shattering disappointment she'd just endured. "Or, perhaps," she began again as he glared up at her with barely repressed murder in his eyes, "you've come to draw Father's fang. The sword, Tessaiga."

"Tessaiga?" the hanyou repeated glancing at the sword still standing beneath her feet and Sesshoumaru knew she was feeling slightly better when she had to repress the urge to roll her eyes. _Oh gods, he's not repeating me, is he_?

Unexpectedly, another voice piped up. "Draw it out, Inuyasha-sama," it squeaked.

"Whaddya talkin' about, Myouga?" the hanyou sighed, giving a name to the slightly familiar voice.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," the flea-youkai called out to her from his perch within the collar of the inuhanyou's haori, "you have tried already, have you not? And you were not able pull it out."

All amusement faded from the white inuyoukai's face as the implication of the flea's words burrowed beneath her skin like tiny parasites. And if anyone should know, it would be this flea. This tiny, insignificant creature had been her father's closest, most loyal retainer. As far as she knew, he was the guardian of her father's tomb. He'd done a pretty good job of avoiding her all these years because she had certainly tried to hunt him down.

"Are you suggesting," she began, her voice reaching a dark tone that radiated through the empty space and was all the more awful for its quiet volume, "that Inuyasha could pull it out?" She narrowed her gaze to the tiny creature alone, leveling him with a glare that had cowed beasts infinitely larger and more powerful than this tiny insect.

The old flea stumbled his way to the junction of the hanyou's shoulder, hiding within the thick locks of ivory hair. Borrowing courage--or idiocy--from his new master, the flea spoke out against Sesshoumaru again. "Absolutely," the creature cried out, his voice trembling in fear. "The tomb was entrusted to him, was it not? That is proof enough that the sword is supposed to be his. Quickly, Inuyasha-sama," the flea said, turning his attention to the inuhanyou who'd been watching the exchange silently, "draw it out!"

"Keh!" the young man responded--quite intelligently, in Sesshoumaru's opinion. "Why the hell would I want a busted up, worn out, old blade like that?" The youth's eyes were blazing with anger and other assorted and confused emotions. And he hadn't dropped from his aggressive stance. "Like I said, we ain't done yet, Sesshoumaru."

The young hanyou lunged at her again, his attack somewhat slow and wide but quite passionate nonetheless. At the last moment, the inuyoukai uncurled herself from where she was seated atop the pedestal and leapt to a new spot. Dropping lightly on a massive rib on the other side of the chest cavity, Sesshoumaru pushed aside the flea's disturbing beliefs. Leaving the sword to the hanyou would be like leaving him the Western Lands. Father wouldn't do that to her. He'd spent her entire life training her and preparing her to control those territories. He wouldn't have left them in the untried hands of a babe. The mere suggestion was ridiculous.

"You damn bastard," the hanyou snapped, "stop fucking dodging me."

"Oh," she responded as he landed in a heap atop the dais, turning those amusingly expressive eyes toward her. "Were you aiming at me?"

Clearly, the impulsive young man took offense to her words. That face hid nothing, so different from her own, as a string of obscenities escaped his lips. Such a brash young man her little brother had become. The hanyou adjusted his footing, giving Sesshoumaru the forewarning she needed, and leapt after her again. And, again, she danced away. Hair, silk, and fur swirled around her as Inuyasha struck the rib where she had been standing, only to bounce off the hard surface and crash into the unforgiving crypt floor.

Landing lightly on the ground several arm lengths from the fallen form, Sesshoumaru gazed down at the hanyou. He lay on his back, red-clad limbs sprawled carelessly from his trunk and his chest rising and falling deeply as he tried to regulate his breathing. A perfect picture of lack of control. Every ounce of energy was channeled into every attack. So much emotion and passion and the young man could be quite powerful, perhaps even a proper opponent under the right circumstances, but with no control he was hopeless. Just a mound of tanned flesh, white fur, and red-fabric panting on the ground.

"I see your fighting style hasn't changed since our last meeting," she quipped, "although at that time, you were a mere babe." The inuhanyou rolled over into a crouch, a movement of white and red, and golden eyes gazed up at her again. Some of the anger seemed to have bled away and something else had taken root. Was he surprised that she remembered? _He should know that this Sesshoumaru forgets nothing_, she thought as he studied her.

For a moment, the two siblings gazed into each other. Each trying to read the other, trying to ferret out secrets. But the moment was broken when the small, wheezy voice of a flea broke the silence.

"You cannot beat Sesshoumaru with your claws, Inuyasha-sama," Myouga shouted into the hanyou's white-furred ear. "Get the sword!"

"Would you shuddup!" the inuhanyou growled back and Sesshoumaru thought she heard a trace of impatience and annoyance in the young man's voice. And the anger now glowing in those dark, golden eyes seemed directed at the flea for interrupting.

"Inuyasha," came a cry from overhead, "just pull out the sword, will ya?"

It was the mortal girl; she was interfering. Not a particularly bright idea. Sesshoumaru narrowed her eyes on the girl who mistakenly believed that she had some right to interject in this little conversation between siblings.

"_Kagome!_" the hanyou shouted in warning from beneath the girl.

"But Sesshoumaru couldn't do it," she continued, ignoring the warning and turning enraged dove-grey eyes on the still daiyoukai. "If you can pull it out after he couldn't, can you imagine how stupid he'd look? How stupid he'd feel? It might not be a physical hit, but it'd be a blow to his pride." The mortal girl glared hard at Sesshoumaru, stormy eyes darkening in rage. "Sesshoumaru'll be disgraced," she finished, practically hissing the words.

Well, that clinched it. She was going to kill this girl. Not that the inuyoukai hadn't planned on killing both the mortal and the hanyou as soon as they dared to show up, but now it was going to be messy, and bloody, and painful. The nerve of this presumptuous, impetuous, insignificant, mortal _wretch_, to think that she had the right to judge what would and would not be grievous to this Sesshoumaru.

But, as if he could see the murderous designs playing out in his elder sibling's mind, Inuyasha spoke again. "I get it now," he growled, catching Sesshoumaru's eye and holding it. Perhaps to keep her from filleting his little girlfriend. "That would really piss you off, wouldn't it, _brother_!" he sneered, his face holding a seriousness the inuyoukai wouldn't have suspected the face could hold. Gone was the gruffness, the posturing, the sarcastic amusement.

The white youkai's face reflected the same gravity. For the first time since the hanyou had arrived in this grisly tomb, Sesshoumaru did not feel the need to play with the young man. "You couldn't," she asserted, hoping that her voice did not betray her very real fear that he could. Because it was an irrational fear. Father wouldn't do that to her.

But the smirk that crossed the hanyou's face, a fang-bearing expression that Sesshoumaru doubted had any resemblance to a smile, told her that he'd noticed the fear.

"Keh," he scoffed at her as he slowly approached the alter. "You show up outta nowhere, you make a fake of my mom, _you kill her_, you fuck with me, you threaten my friends," the hanyou reached out, his hand hovering over the hilt. "Tell me, _brother_, if I pull this out, will it make you cry?"

That tanned hand slowly wrapped itself around the frayed hilt and Sesshoumaru watched, waited, for blue flames and arcs of energy. She held her breath but kept her face neutral, waiting, _hoping_, for some sign that the sword was rejecting him. But nothing happened.

Hiding in a corner, Jaken gasped out a denial and Sesshoumaru was hard-pressed not to agree. The sword was accepting him, the sword that should have been her inheritance, the symbol of her domination of the west, was accepting a lowly hanyou after it had rejected her. She was angry. She wanted to destroy the hanyou, the sword, and that damn girl who'd suggested this whole thing.

But the hanyou was having troubles of his own. Sesshoumaru watched as the cords of the young man's throat flexed and trembled in exertion as he attempted to pull the sword from the dais. Perhaps, it hadn't accepted him after all.

After several moments, during which the burning rage that had flooded the daiyoukai's veins subsided, the hanyou gave up. He wiggled it a little, likely to see if it had budged at all, but the sword refused to come out. Relief soothed the fiery paths of rage within the inuyoukai as the hanyou stood, with a dumbstruck look on his young face. Releasing his grip on the coveted sword, he stood very still while everyone waited.

"Hey," he said softly as Myouga crawled up on his shoulder. Sesshoumaru was somewhat amused to see the flea turn to run at the harmless word. But before the tiny creature could leap away he was caught in sharp claws. "_I couldn't pull the damn thing out, could I?_" the hanyou hissed at the ancient youkai.

But as amusing as it was to see the hanyou so disappointed and see the interfering little insect be squashed repeatedly, Sesshoumaru still had a sword to claim. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that this was her mission, her father, her sword.

"This fun little game is over," she stated, interrupting the inuhanyou's bug smashing session. Before the hanyou could even turn his attention to her, she appeared directly before him with one hand tangled in the rough, red fabric of his haori. Dried bones scattered around her as she pushed off the ground, driving the startled young man back and into the rib cage of their father's tomb. His feet dangled a hand length or so from the ground as she held him up to her superior height. "It would appear that Tessaiga was never meant for the likes of you, hanyou," she commented, so close that her breath ghosted over the skin of his cheek. His golden eyes, one still damaged from earlier, clouded over with some unknown reaction as she brought up her free talons. It must be fear.

"Let me introduce you to my poisoned claws," she breathed as a soft, green mist formed around her displayed talons. She felt the hanyou tense but, before he had a chance to struggle, she thrust her claws into the bone beside his mane. The air filled with sweet fumes as caustic acid leaked from the poison ducts beneath each claw. The bone liquefied beneath her touch, as did a portion of the fire-rat cloth where a bit of the viscous, green fluid had dripped.

She loosened her prey and he leapt away from the melting rib. "You can't escape," the white youkai whispered in his ear as she appeared behind him, shocking him with her otherworldly speed. Once again, she fisted his haori, this time forcing him down on his back. She landed atop him, straddling his hips.

"I'm coming, Sesshoumaru-sama," she heard from behind and she seriously considered destroying the tiny youkai before she finished this game with her little brother. Why, in the seven levels of hell, would she need assistance from a cowardly, powerless, sniveling imp? Especially when she'd already taken down her prey. The white youkai almost breathed a sigh of relief when the mortal girl trampled the small creature.

But something had changed while she'd been mildly distracted. Her sensitive nose picked up a scent that she rarely found on those who she'd marked for death. The daiyoukai narrowed her eyes into tiny golden chips as she glared at the hanyou beneath her. His eyes were clouded again, but this time his aroma most certainly wasn't of fear. She dropped her face to his, brushing her nose along the soft skin of his cheek. Through his pores, she could smell a different combination of hormones. Drawing back slightly, she wasn't amused to find his face flushed and turned away, unable to meet her eyes.

Well, she hadn't expected the young man to be aroused.

If it weren't for the thick bone armor about her waist, she was certain she'd feel hardened proof pressing against her.

"Die," she hissed bringing up her poisoned claws. A denial rang out from behind her, presumably from the mortal girl, but what stopped her was the metallic scrapping that followed.

Sesshoumaru snapped her head back, thick silver curtains whipping around her. Her grip loosened as she stared in disbelief, the hanyou beneath her turning with his newfound freedom but not attempting to leave. Two sets of shocked golden eyes focused on the mortal girl. The one holding a tattered, battered sword.

"Sorry," she whimpered, the sound barely carrying even in this cavern that echoed the slightest noise, "it just slipped out."

It was Jaken who broke the heavy silence. "Im-impossible," the imp stuttered, voicing the thought of every creature present. The girl continued to stand, bare legs trembling and her knuckles white under the choking grip she held on the hilt. "If that mongrel couldn't get it, and Sesshoumaru-sama couldn't get it--," the imp continued to stutter as Sesshoumaru rolled up and off her opponent, her golden gaze appraising the young mortal woman. "--then how could that impetuous _mortal_ pull the sword?"

_Exactly what I would like to know_, Sesshoumaru decided.

"Keep your eyes off her," the hanyou growled as he tried to strike out at the daiyoukai. Sesshoumaru avoided the attack, leaving the hanyou crouching in the new gouge he'd dug as she appeared before the sword-wielding girl.

"You," the white inuyoukai addressed the girl, stepping forward and crowding her against the cavernous walls of her father's corpse. "What kind of creature are you?" she asked. The girl looked, and even smelled, mortal. She was dressed oddly, but human fashions were often changing. Thick waves of black hair hung softly over a slim frame. Grey eyes that were nearly as expressive as the inuhanyou's gazed at her with barely restrained terror. She was an average, if somewhat pretty, mortal girl. "Why were you able to pull Tessaiga?" the daiyoukai asked, not hopeful she would receive an acceptable answer.

She wasn't wrong. "St-stay away from me, you," the girl stammered, stepping back and bringing up the dull blade. "You come any closer and I'll…I'll _slice_ you."

Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow. This girl was going to slice her with a busted-up blade that she clearly wasn't able to use. Or even hold correctly. Surely, the human race would have to die out within a few more generations with examples like this.

"Leave her alone, Sesshoumaru," came a stressed voice from behind. The youkai in question turned to acknowledge the speaker as he continued, "she doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Inuyasha!" the girl pleaded, although whether she was begging for his assistance or his silence, the inuyoukai was unsure.

"I believe you're mistaken, little brother," Sesshoumaru informed him. "Do not forget, you brought her here. Now, she is very much involved." The daiyoukai brought up her favorite weapon and relished in the deadly, sweet scent as her poison fumes saturated the air. Turning her attention back to the shaking yet strangely defiant girl before her, the white inuyoukai held out her hand. "My Dokkasou will take care of you."

A slight tension in a few muscles and a tug on her youki and the poison sacks constricted then released. Sesshoumaru watched dispassionately as a deadly fog engulfed the impetuous mortal; the wall behind her and even the ground beneath her dissolving and liquefying. Soon, only a green cloud could be seen over the area. Sesshoumaru dropped her hand and where a human had once stood was merely a puddle of melted bone and an indestructible sword.

"_Kagome_," the hanyou gasped, reaching into the puddle of acid and goo only to pull back as the poison began to dissolve his arm as well. _I wonder if he's afraid he'll forget her name_, the daiyoukai wondered, _it would be a logical explanation as to why he keeps screaming it out. Not that it matters any longer…_

"Darn," the white youkai commented, boredness tainting her voice, "it appears she was an ordinary mortal after all." A low growling nearby brought her gaze back to the crouching hanyou.

"Sesshoumaru--" her brother ground out, rising to his feet and readying an attack.

The white inuyoukai raised her poisonous claws for what should be the last time. "Yes, hanyou, I believe it's finally your turn." But before she was could launch her attack, her brother landed his fist in the center of her armored chest. The force of the blow knocked the daiyoukai back several lengths. She brought her arms up to press against the assaulted spot. It didn't hurt, probably wouldn't have even without the armor protection, but it was rare that anyone managed a hit on her.

Somewhere nearby, Sesshoumaru could hear Jaken squawking his disbelief. As the bone plating came apart in her hands, the white inuyoukai found herself slightly amazed as well. "Are you angry, Inuyasha," she asked, genuinely curious, "she was just a mortal. There are many, many more."

The hanyou crouched, his position aggressive. He pierced her with eyes narrowed and sharp in anger and hate. "Fucking bastard," he growled. The volume was soft, as was the tone, but so deep that it nearly ran shivers up the seasoned youkai's spine. "I'm gonna gut you next."

His promised attack never came however. The hanyou glanced back at the still oozy puddle where his mortal bitch had perished. Sesshoumaru followed his gaze and both watched in amazement as the puddle began to move. If asked, even Sesshoumaru would have admitted she was surprised to see the mortal girl pulling herself out of the pool of acid that would have dissolved every structure in the universe. And she was shaking it out of her hair as if it were mud.

"Oh, man," she gasped as she stumbled up on solid ground, Tessaiga clutched to her chest, "I thought I was dead."

_Didn't we all_, Sesshoumaru agreed, and Inuyasha nodded dumbly as well.

"You," she shouted, turning to Sesshoumaru and pointing the treasured sword at her, "you tried to kill me, didn't you."

Sesshoumaru blinked. Was the girl seriously asking, because the daiyoukai thought her intentions had been quite clear.

"You jerk," she snapped, those grey eyes darkening like storm clouds, "I'm gonna make you regret that." Then, much to Sesshoumaru's dismay, the girl turned to the hanyou by her side. The girl's face instantly brightened, every trace of indignation vanishing to reveal a sweet, energetic smile. It occurred to the inuyoukai that the mortal might have some psychological disorder. "Here," the suddenly perky girl chirped, placing the sword in the hanyou's hands.

"Uh, okay," he replied, clearly wondering about her state of mind as well.

"This sword looks pretty cool," she continued, "go get him, okay?"

"Uh," the hanyou began again, still looking at the girl with a perplexed expression marring his face, "why are you alive?"

"She was protected by the sword's shield," Sesshoumaru answered the hanyou's question. Her eyes riveted on the blade currently nestled in the hanyou's hands. He held it so casually; the blade that rejected her very touch.

"Hesitate no longer, Inuyasha-sama," the tiny flea-youkai bounced around on the inuhanyou's shoulder. "Use Sesshoumaru-sama as a target to test out Tessaiga's blade."

The sight of her father's precious sword in the untrained hands of the hanyou finally pushed Sesshoumaru over the fluctuating limit of her patience. She chuckled softly, deeply. "Brave words, small flea." She released the massive reserves of youki she stored within this delicate frame. Bone fragments lifted from the ground, swirling away from her to strike the walls of the tomb. The temperature dropped until the youkai saw the mortal girl shiver in her tiny garments. "This Sesshoumaru is curious to see," the white inuyoukai began as her hair lifted to join the growing storm and the flapping silk of her kimono began to dissolve, "whether an abomination such as you can master the awesome power of Tessaiga." With no more words to say, Sesshoumaru finally released herself to the transformation.

It was…uncomfortable, bordering on painful, as her bones bent and stretched, some even merging together as others split to form additional bones as needed. Joints rearranged, bending and twisting her until she was forced down on all fours. Her delicate, striped wrists grew a thick layer of soft fur before her eyes and, instead of seeing a hand, she looked down on a massive paw. But as painful as it was to have her body rearrange itself, it was wonderfully exhilarating as well. In a humanoid form, her senses outmatched that of any mortal dog or other youkai, but they were still stunted by the physical limitations of the form. The additional input was spectacular.

As she rose above her opponents, the daiyoukai marveled at herself. This is who she was. This massive, powerful creature. Not some weak, simpering fool like mortal women, not even a powerful but flighty fool like her mother. Sesshoumaru was a monstrous creature, more powerful than any other youkai in these lands. More terrifying than any tale used to frighten children. More than strong enough to destroy a simple hanyou brat and his odd mortal bitch. More than strong enough to bend the sword, Tessaiga, to her will. She stretched her tail out behind her, revering in the feel of a limb she didn't often get to use, before letting it flip and swish on its own. It was all the youkai could do not to howl her excitement into the echoing cavity of this tomb.

Below the towering daiyoukai, the mortal girl was stammering, clearly surprised by the youkai's change. "It ain't nothing," Inuyasha stated but an underlying tension belied his words. "Sesshoumaru's just showin' his true form's all." Leaping into the air, the hanyou shouted, "I think it's time to test out my blade."

Had she retained the ability in this new form, Sesshoumaru would have laughed as the inuhanyou brought the dull, rusted sword down in the center of her skull. The blade bounced off, throwing the hanyou to the side of the tomb. Sesshoumaru gave the young man no chance to wonder at this as she lunged for him, massive jaws opened to devour her attacker. Her opponent barely managed to dodge her muzzle as she snapped it closed, grinding away at her father's rib. Looking winded and flustered, he barely avoided a poisoned claw as she swung out at him. Soon, he wouldn't be able to evade her and she would take great joy in tearing him into shreds. There was a price to be paid for trying to take what belongs to Sesshoumaru.

A sharp sting on her ankle indicated that the hanyou had finally managed a hit. The daiyoukai snorted her amusement through her muzzle, noticing a frustration from the inuhanyou as he also discerned the hopeless plight he was in. That annoying girl, however, seemed oblivious. Sesshoumaru raised the paw to her mouth, licking at the slightly bruised flesh while she allowed the hanyou to inform the mortal of exactly how doomed their situation was. She waited patiently for the two to say their goodbyes; after all, she had a heart…sometimes. In a sickeningly sweet gesture, she watched the hanyou pledge his protection to the girl. _Pathetic mortal women_, she scoffed as the hanyou finally stood before her, determination and resignation warring across his features.

Yet, as she watched the hanyou approach, the tattered Tessaiga swung casually over his shoulder, Sesshoumaru noticed a difference. A difference in the hanyou as his face became set in a stony expression of determination. A difference in the sword as it seemed to pulse within the hanyou's grasp. A difference in the very air as a foreign youki began to leak into the edges of her senses. She watched, wary, as youki began to swirl and concentrate around the sword, youki too similar to her father's.

_This must be finished now_, she decided, the winds making her uneasy of dragging out this little show of strength. Settling back on her haunches, she used every bit of energy to lunge at the young man. He brought up the battered blade as a last ditch effort to defend himself, but it would be of no use. She would crush him beneath her massive weight before dissolving his body with her acid. He leapt up to meet her blow and when Sesshoumaru saw the transformed sword, it was too late to abort her attack.

The sword pushed between the pads of her paw, between the second and third claw. She howled as it decimated her ankle, cleaving through skin, muscle, cartilage, and bone as if it were slicing fat. The transformed Tessaiga snapped through her radius, shattered her elbow, and was halfway through her humerus before the hanyou broke off his attack. Severing half her arm as he did so.

The proud daiyoukai fell to the ground as pain greater than any she'd ever felt before seared through her system. Nearby, the hanyou landed nimbly, the transformed Tessaiga stretched out before him. The sword had accepted him as its master. That realization hurt nearly as much as her shattered limb. Reluctantly she turned her eyes to the mauled foreleg. The cut had been clean. It had run straight up the center of her leg, before cutting away to the left. The worst part was, the right portion was still there, still intact.

And she couldn't leave it.

If she tried to stand, it would snap. It would be best to just finish the break, hopefully making it clean. The youkai closed her eyes. It would be better if she didn't see, didn't think about what she was going to do. Opening her jaws, she placed them around the raw flesh. Before she could hesitate, she locked her jaw on the remaining limb, twisting her head when the worthless flesh didn't immediately separate. The sick taste of her own blood filled her mouth as the remainder of her left foreleg came off in her teeth.

Pushing the now lifeless flesh from her mouth with her tongue, the daiyoukai struggled to her feet. Blood poured from her severed limb. The terrible tingling and itching amplifying the pain as her youki immediate began trying to halt the bleeding. But right now, there was nothing she could do for it. She turned toward the hanyou. The stupid boy who had just taken everything from her.

He didn't even glance her way. He was studying his new sword. His new sword that should have been hers, the sword that had just taken her arm and, perhaps, her ability to keep rule over her lands. And he wasn't even looking at her.

She growled, a low rumble that she knew was a bad idea. She wasn't honorable enough to give the abomination fair warning. But she couldn't stop herself. She hurt and her whole life had just unraveled. So, she growled. The boy looked up just in time to see her attack as she lunged for him.

"This is it, Sesshoumaru," he shouted as he brought the blade up and then down across her chest. The blow held enough force to throw her across the chest cavity and through the wall. Warmth engulfed her, the pain retreating slightly as the healing sword, Tensaiga, engulfed her. Through her own howls, she heard the cries of Jaken, her loyal retainer and sent a barely controlled wisp of youki to snag him, dragging him into the protective sphere Tensaiga had established.

She wanted to go back, to finish this fight, or die trying. But the sword wouldn't let her and she knew it. And she would have died. As much as her pride couldn't stand it, the healing sword would only take her away on the verge of death. With one final howl of frustration and pain, she succumbed to the sword's will and let it take her away.

_l---l_

Annoying A/N: Okay, this chapter came out infinitely longer than I expected. I had a couple complaints/requests to move the story along faster. Since I spent a bit of time and storyplotting deciding exactly how and when Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha hook up, I'm sorry but I'm not gonna change it to make the story move faster. If that makes my story boring, then I'm sorry but I'm gonna try it my way first. The one concession I can make is to make my chapters longer. Of course, combined with school being back in session, that means my updates will be much, much more irregular.

**Special Thanx to:**

_**Shuori**_

_**Demitria Miriam**_

_**Miss War-Chan**_

_**Sparkangel**_

_**Malimillions**_

_**Manda**_

_**DrakenD4**_

_**Lady Yueh**_

_**Tenamanda1988**_

_**Nikkie23534**_

You guys really make all the writing and dreadful proof-reading worth the effort. Thanx,

Silence


	5. Chapter 5

Warnings: just some language and somewhat graphic violence

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, or anything related to the manga or anime. I do not even own the OC, Reikyotsu, in this chapter as he actually appears for about 2 seconds in the anime…

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Pain surged through the youkai's body as the transporting sphere of light dissipated, leaving her bleeding on the forest floor. Pure rage had her acting on instinct as she tossed her head back and howled her agony into the night. Her burning fury was not at all calmed by the cold satisfaction she felt as every lifeforce in the surrounding area--for several leagues, in fact--vanished, fled from the manically enraged daiyoukai. All that remained was the trembling imp attempting to hide within her pelt.

Sesshoumaru turned reddened eyes toward the tiny creature. Taloned fingers grasped the growing red stain on her left sleeve as if trying to contain the searing pain from her severed limb, _gods, how can it hurt when it's not even there,_ that was amplified by the still-oozing wound across her chest. The amount of pain pulsing through her lean body was more than enough to drive most people mad. As it was, the white inuyoukai was having trouble keeping this humanoid form and the filter that allowed her to maintain a stoic persona regardless of how annoyed she may be, was gone. And it was this filter that often left this imp still breathing.

"Ma-ster," the creature stuttered when he saw murder in those red eyes. Sesshoumaru watched as the imp hunched down and attempted to conceal himself within the fur of her pelt. How dare this weak, insignificant creature think it could hide from her? She was Sesshoumaru and she was aware of every insect that lived within this stretch of wood. And he had his godsdamned fingers in her fucking fur. She _hated_ that. Pulling back her upper lip and revealing wickedly sharp and impossibly long fangs, she snarled at the whimpering creature.

"Leave," she bit out before she killed the small youkai who only served her in order to gain her protection. The imp squeaked at the uncontrolled emotion flooding the white youkai's voice. Never had he seen his master so undone and the intoxicating scent of his fear further enticed the inuyoukai and her fingers clenched around the red-stained fabric in her grasp. She wanted to shred the imp, to feel that leathery flesh split beneath her claws.

"Leave, now!" she barked. The tiny creature jumped before stumbling backwards a few steps. His stubby legs gave out and he landed on his rump. The growling from the inuyoukai grew to a snarl and the small youkai leapt to his feet and quickly vacated the area. Once alone, Sesshoumaru collapsed back against a tree, clutching the bleeding stump where her arm used to be.

Finally, she released the worthless limb her little brother had gifted her with. Red-tipped talons dropped to her side before wrapping around the fine, wooden sheathe of the sword strapped there. The blood-drenched inuyoukai dragged the sword from the restraining obi and placed it across her lap before slowly releasing her grip. It took some force to unwrap each finger. She wanted to hurl it, throw it so far away she'd never have to see the worthless scrap of metal again. She hated it. But it had just saved her life. And the white youkai was sure that it would be instrumental in getting her through the next few days.

It was, after all, a healing sword.

Proof that her father had truly gone mad before his death. What kind of daiyoukai created a _healing_ sword? One that brought the dead back to life? And what kind of daiyoukai expected his heir to be _happy_ about receiving such a sword? How could her father expect her to be grateful for receiving such a worthless piece of junk? After all, she had neither the need nor the desire to bring anything back to life. If something died, then it clearly wasn't strong enough to survive. She had no use for a creature that couldn't survive on its own.

And this is what her father had given her instead of Tessaiga. But she couldn't think of that now. Right now, she would use its gifts, albeit reluctantly. So the sword stayed in her lap instead of being pitched into the lightening shadows of the trees around her.

The daiyoukai cleared her mind, driving away every thought until she was consumed only by pain. Anger in this state would push her over the edge of sanity and she would become a beast. Only the strict training she'd received as a child enabled her to transcend what her base instincts demanded of her. This is what separated her from the other youkai, what made her a daiyoukai. Control. Any other youkai would have let the rage consume it, would have ravaged this countryside until it was brought down by an opponent too strong to be overcome by mere force.

So the wounded youkai joined with the pain, giving it reign to push through her mental barriers until she was completely merged with it. Once it was no longer working to fight the pain, her body could concentrate on repairing the damage.

For two days, the inuyoukai meditated. For two days, the majestic, white creature writhed in agony as she endured the accelerated healing her youki granted her with. For two days, she was able to keep thoughts of a sword and a hanyou from her mind. When the sun reached its zenith on the third day, Sesshoumaru finally opened her eyes.

The inuyoukai blinked as the harsh sunlight assaulted her sensitive pupils. After a few moments, she was able to adjust to the light she'd hidden from for several days. Turning her head slightly, she examined this small patch of forest that had been her refuge. Dust motes danced in thin beams of sunlight that wavered between the swaying leaves in the tree canopy. The trees were thick, this was obviously an ancient stretch of woods, and the trunks rose several times her height before splitting into innumerable branches. If her memory was accurate, and she knew it was, then she was approximately halfway between her brother's forest and the border of her own territory.

Closing her eyes yet again, Sesshoumaru extended her senses. She needed to place every living creature within this territory. The white youkai knew there was nothing nearby that could be threatening to her--if anything had dared to approach, her subconscious would have alerted her--but now was time to impress everything into her conscious mind. As she expected, only a few birds and insects remained. Even tiny forest rodents such as squirrels and chipmunks were still keeping their distance.

The only exception was Jaken. The helpless imp was apparently keeping guard, or more likely staying within the protective cover of her enraged aura. But he was far enough away that she could tend herself without his interference. It seemed the small youkai had wisely concluded that his loyal service to her would not guarantee his safety if he should venture too close.

Shakily, the daiyoukai pulled her legs beneath her. Her limbs were weak and unsteady from the depletion of youki her healing had required and the forced lack of movement over the last few days. She leaned forward, her heavy sway of hair falling over her face as she placed one hand on the ground. Frustration surged through her when she attempted to balance herself with both hands but her left wouldn't respond. The inuyoukai immediately bottled the frustration, instead bracing herself on her right arm. She would have to learn to compensate until she discovered a solution. Anger would not grow the limb back.

After a little fumbling, she made it to her feet. Leaning against the tree that had served as her backrest for several days, she took a deep breath and let the cool air clean out the stagnation within her mouth and lungs. Her hair hung damp and heavy against her, strands clinging to her face and neck. Her clothes were stiff and sticky, congealed blood and sour sweat saturating the delicate fabrics. Her bone armor was shattered.

Leaning her head back against the rough bark, she extended her youki one more time. Jaken was still where she remembered. Bracing herself with one slim hand against the rough bark, she stepped away from the tree. Strands of hair pulled as the rough crevices of the bark grasped after them. Bracing her back, she took another trembling step, bringing herself out of touching distance of the tree. A dozen steps later and the daiyoukai collapsed on the stone bank of a hot spring.

Rarely did Sesshoumaru ever concern herself with the fates or the gods--the powerful daiyoukai accomplished everything on her own power whether with or against their designs--but at this moment she offered thanks to whoever was listening that she lived in a volcanic land where hot springs could be found around every corner.

Sprawled in a tangled heap on the stone bank of a spring, the proud daiyoukai began the arduous process of removing the layers upon layers of coverings.

The first thing to come off was the fur pelt Sesshoumaru wore over her right shoulder. It was also the easiest. Thankfully, the length of fur was simply tucked in strategically and with her right arm intact, the injured youkai didn't have to involve herself in any contortionist movements to grab a hold of the damn thing. She found it ironic that the only thing that wouldn't be a pain in the ass to remove was a piece of herself. The pelt was actually a section of her own hide. Malleable and even detachable, it could be incredibly convenient. As a mountain dog from some of the most rugged sections of the stony peaks, her hide was heavy and thick as protection from the elements--not that the daiyoukai particularly needed it. It had also proved useful as a weapon, something completely unexpected by an opponent. Mostly, however, the inuyoukai kept it in her humanoid form because it was some kind of tradition among her kind. Her mother wore hers; her father had worn his. It exaggerated her size, it made her very recognizable--_in case I'm dealing with an idiot who misses the silver hair and unique markings, that is_--it was intimidating, and she liked it. At the moment, however, with no ceremony or sentimentality, she kicked it into the swirling waters.

Next, she twisted carefully, picking at the lashings holding the pieces of her armor in place. This was awkward, stretching and bending to reach them on her left side. Not to mention trying to pull at them with one hand instead of two. Finally, however, the heavy bone plates fell unimpeded to the ground with a muffled thud. The white youkai turned away from the shattered pieces. They were worthless now and would be left behind.

The kimono came free easier and soon the smooth silk and soft kosode pooled around her. Reaching for her leather boots, she pulled them free before finally getting the hakama off her slender hips. With the exception of her boots and sword, she shoved every piece into the water. The fabrics floated on the surface for a moment before sinking to the bottom of the crystal clear water.

Dressed only in the ragged bandages that were ever wrapped around her chest, Sesshoumaru eased one slim, pale foot into the steamy pool. The hot water encased her, wrapping her in a sheath of warm comfort. Slipping both legs into the spring, she found that it was deeper than she'd expected. The inuyoukai pushed herself off the rocky bank and into the concealing mist where she sank up to her hips into the water.

Her skin tingled as the bubbling currents of the active spring swirled around her, caressing her flesh. The oxygenized bubbles spiraling from the center of the pool felt like tiny fingers, massaging the exhausted muscles of her thighs, lower back, and abdomen. Bringing up a handful of mineral-rich water, the youkai wet her stomach, washing away the coating of grimy blood and sweat. She repeated the action on her left shoulder, rubbing away the blood congealed on the stump before letting her fingers drift down to where her bicep ended, just above where her elbow should be.

A sensitive layer of skin had grown over the exposed muscle and flesh where her arm had been separated. It would thicken over the next few days until it was of the same texture and sensitivity as the rest of her pale flesh. It was warm to the touch, both on the end of the stump and about halfway up the remainder of her limb, and the pale skin was flushed. Infection. Uncomfortable but nothing to worry about. Now that she was no longer bleeding to death, her youki could fight the infection that had tried to settle in.

The white youkai turned away from the proof of her failure. Using her sharp claws, she cut away at the bandages about her chest. The bloodstained cloth dropped into the water exposing her upper torso to the warm embrace of the concealing mist hovering over the spring. Again, she cupped water from the hot pool before pressing her hand to the gentle swells of her breasts. The final slash her brother had given her had begun just below her left collarbone, continuing over her left breast, down the line of her sternum before ending beneath her right breast. It had been deep--deep enough to cut into her ribs--but was almost completely healed. Only a small line remained which would fade, probably before the end of the day.

Scrubbing the last clump of blood from her healed flesh, the daiyoukai sank into the bubbling water. As her face slid into the hot pool, her hair continued to float along its surface, swirling along the hidden currents like strands of silver seaweed. Eventually, the water infused each strand, darkening them and bringing them below the surface. Completely submerged, the white inuyoukai turned herself, her darkened mane swirling in the water. Stretching her long body along the rocky spring floor, Sesshoumaru finally turned her thoughts to her failed battle.

How could she have let this happen? How could she have lost in battle to her little brother, a half-grown hanyou? How could she have lost Tessaiga and her arm in one night? She couldn't leave this stretch of woods until she found answers to these questions.

Around her, tiny bubbles continued their upward journey to escape the watery depths. Through the shimmering surface, the inuyoukai tracked the progress of the sun as it passed overhead. Watching the shifting golden orb, she faced the answer. She had lost control. From the moment she'd entered the battlefield, she'd been in perfect control. However, when she had seen Tessaiga cradled in those rough hands tipped with stunted claws--hanyou hands--she'd lost it. She'd transformed. Of all the mistakes she'd made that night, transforming was the worst.

There was a reason a great daiyoukai such as herself clung to a humanoid form. It was easier to disguise every sign of her sex. True, her real self was nearly sexless--much like herself. After all, she was a beast of mystical nature. Her true form was a reflection of her true nature. Her size was a representation of her power and the apparent lack of outward sexual organs was expected on a youkai as powerful as herself, it showed she was not driven by base carnal lusts.

However, if one looked closer it would be clear that she did, indeed, have sexual organs. They were simply more discrete than a massive hanging cock--and much more defendable; they were female.

Her humanoid form was quite similar. She was tall, taller than many human men. Her body was lean and muscular without any sign of the softness that excess or slothness could bring. Even the worthless breasts were merely soft swells that were easily flattened by a few passes of tight cloth.

No one questioned her masculinity, and by extension her ability to rule, when she stood in this weaker, humanoid version of her true self. That is why Sesshoumaru never transformed. There were few who'd ever seen her real self, and even fewer who'd lived. Now there were four more. Jaken was much too stupid to have noticed. The inuyoukai could only hope the flea had been too terrified for his own life to be watching. That mortal girl was probably oblivious, but the hanyou…

The white inuyoukai admitted that she'd already underestimated the hanyou once. Transforming had been her worst mistake, but underestimating her little brother had been the most deadly. Normally, an opponent's weaker strength gave her an advantage. And undoubtedly, she was stronger than her little brother, but the inuhanyou's fiery passion and insatiable desire to live had given him the strength he'd needed to defeat her. It didn't make him more powerful than she, it just made him a survivor.

Golden eyes watched from beneath hot water until the sun vanished over the rocky edge of the pool. Deciding she'd soaked enough to finally wash the last of grime and sweat off her body, the daiyoukai pushed off the bottom of the spring and sucked in a lungful of the moist, steamy air that covered the surface of the spring. Most of the remainder of the day had passed since she'd awakened against that tree.

Reaching a stripped wrist back into bubbling water, Sesshoumaru pulled out the lengths of sodden silk, linen, and fur. They were still marred with large rust-brown stains but the blood and sweat had been washed from the cloth and the fabric would bleach back to white with continued exposure to her youki. The strips of cloth she normally wore around her chest were shredded beyond use. First, from her brother's strike across her chest, then from her own claws as she removed the stained fabric. For now, she could slice up the linen kosode that she normally wore beneath her kimono. Jaken could easily find a replacement.

In the center of the large pool was a huge boulder and she spread the white garments and fur over it so they could dry some before she redressed. Surrounding the boulder and just below the water's surface were several smaller stones. Choosing one, the white inuyoukai rested, her thick mane pulled over her shoulder and her back resting against the warm stone. The sun had drifted enough to the west that she hadn't been able to see it from beneath the water anymore. Even now, it was beginning to drift below the tree line. She could only afford to stall a while longer. Then she must return to her lands and restore order there.

Her extended absence surely hadn't gone unnoticed. With her new injury and Tessaiga back in the world of the living, her life had just gotten much more complicated.

Things would have been so much simpler if she had just killed the hanyou. In fact, she should have killed him as soon as she had extracted the pearl. Instead, she'd played with the inuhanyou. She'd killed the oni and the Mu-Onna, she'd even killed that silly mortal girl--who'd had the gall to survive--why hadn't she killed the hanyou?

It couldn't have been family loyalty. If the youkai had felt any attachment to her half-brother then she would have taken him in when he was orphaned. She would have cared for him when he was too young to survive on his own. She'd done neither, she'd expected him to die. In fact, when Jaken had informed her of the hanyou's predicament fifty years ago she'd been surprised that he'd managed to survive so long. It would have been a good death for the inuhanyou. To survive all the hardships life could throw at him only to perish on the claws of the strongest youkai in Japan.

Perhaps that was it. Perhaps she felt some sort of twisted pride that her father, as great and powerful as he was, had been able to sire a hanyou with an amazing aptitude for survival. After all, hanyou were low and pathetic creatures, containing all the weakness of their human and youkai parents. Normally, they were so deformed they died at birth, or were put out of their misery. That her father had been able to sire one that thrived showed how truly magnificent the great daiyoukai had been.

But regardless of the reason, it was imperative that she kill the hanyou. He had caused her to make crucial mistakes. She had let both her façade and her control slip. First, she'd given up the opportunity to destroy him and had _played_ with him instead. Sure, the inuyoukai enjoyed an interesting kill as much as anyone else but never had she gotten so involved in the taunting that her prey had gone free. Somehow, that scrap of a man had made her forget, if just for a moment, that she was suppose to kill him.

Then he'd made her lose control. Regardless of the situation she was in, Sesshoumaru never lost her temper. She got impatient sometimes, she got mad sometimes, sometimes she destroyed things, often she terrified every being she came across, but she did not lose her temper. Something about that impetuous creature had made her lose her temper. She could not afford for such a liability to be wandering about. The hanyou's existence could lead to crucial mistakes so he must be destroyed in order to preserve her own existence.

But, for now at least, she had more important things to do. Her lands would be in chaos when news of her defeat reached them. In her world, only the strong survived--and only the strongest ruled. While she was certain no one would know she'd met defeat at the hands of a half-grown hanyou, her own brother no less, her missing arm would be testimony enough. She would be facing challenges and rebellions upon her return.

With a deep sigh, Sesshoumaru pushed herself up from her rocky perch. She had been away from her lands nearly half a moon-cycle. Even now, the sun was setting, turning the sky a myriad of colors from the reds and oranges of fire to the deepest purples and blues of death. With a few slashes of her claws, she cut long strips of linen from her kosode and wrapped her chest. There was no one in the area but she wouldn't risk leaving the steamy mist of the spring with her breasts exposed.

Grabbing an armful of damp white material, Sesshoumaru hauled the rest of her clothing to the spring edge. Gingerly climbing from the warm heat of the healing waters, Sesshoumaru managed to don her clothing. It was awkward, she'd never noticed before just how many ties were involved with her kimono, hakama, and obi. The twisting and bending involved, forcing one set of claws to nimbly handle the work of two. But her arm wasn't growing back; for now, she would have to learn to survive without it.

But at least she was more steady that she had been earlier. Apparently, spending the day resting in a hot spring was invigorating as well as slothful. The proud inuyoukai stood straight, her legs no longer trembling, and she slipped the hated sword into her obi. With silent steps, she headed off in the direction of her underling.

The grey-green creature was seated in a pile of leathery flesh and brown linen, hidden beneath the rotted remains of an ancient, fallen tree. His posture was defensive, the Nintoujou before him as a warning to any attackers. But his ability to ward off any danger was questioned by the lids closed over dull yellow eyes. The sad, defenseless creature hadn't even noted her arrival. He needed her. If she left him, if something happened to her, he would not last a season.

"Jaken," she said, feeling a trace of amusement as the tiny imp jumped and squawked, the Nintoujou falling from his hands.

Hastily grabbing the two-headed staff, the small imp rushed to prostrate himself before his master. "Sesshoumaru-sama," he gasped into the dirt. Conflicting scents of fear and hope drifted from the trembling form at the daiyoukai's feet.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the minor youkai's devotion in light of her recent defeat, Sesshoumaru turned away from the small creature. Hair, silk, and fur swirled over the prostrate form as she began to walk away. "Let's go home, Jaken," she said just as she disappeared into the trees.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky, lightening the heavens a pale shade of blue and giving the impression that the world was completely at ease. A false impression as Sesshoumaru noticed as soon as she put one booted foot within her own borders. Her absence had not been unnoticed. The energy she shared with the lands was restless, as if it were being pulled at its seams. Creatures were already desiring to claim her borders as their own, already vying for her position. And it would only get worse.

The lands accepted her back, their powers rushing through her as hers fed into them, a symbiotic relationship that could only be shared by one as powerful as she. The frosty signature of her youki would spread to be felt by every youkai and the more sensitive spiritualists within her territories. Within the space of a few breaths, they would all know she had returned.

With slow but sure steps, the white inuyoukai turned away from her final destination--her stronghold deep within the mountains. She had a stop to make first.

Jaken followed, oblivious to the wealth of information his master was gathering as they made their journey into the dark shadows beneath the rising peaks of her lands. The sky began to darken, not because they had traveled long but because the foliage had thickened until it blocked all but the barest wisps of light from above. Sesshoumaru continued to pass through the thick underbrush as if the land was opening up for her, and perhaps it was. She made no sound and left no trace of her passing. Behind her, however, Jaken huffed and scrambled over tangled brush and fallen branches.

She finally stopped at a particularly heavy copse of trees. They were unnaturally large, even in this forest unmarred by the hands of man. Contrary to the natural needs such plants required to sustain life, they grew closely together. So closely, in fact, that only small animals would be capable of passing between. Root systems tangled and fought for space a good several lengths around the wall of bark and the branches above grew together so that no light passed to the ground and it was impossible to differentiate what branch connected to what tree.

The white daiyoukai waited at the barrier of roots for a moment before they began to pull themselves from the ground and open a path to the largest tree. The bark on the tree shifted and behind Sesshoumaru, Jaken gasped before concealing himself behind her majestic form. Unphased by the kodama's tricks, Sesshoumaru waited impatiently while the bark shifted and concentrated before finally separating from the tree. A beautiful woman stepped from the dark trunk--thick, layered kimonos moving with her every step and black hair swirling around her hips. Dark, green eyes peered from beneath thick lashes toward Sesshoumaru with feigned respect and badly concealed lust.

Again, the daiyoukai silently thanked her father's strict training as she managed not to sneer or gag in disgust.

Painted lips curled into what was supposed to be a smile, but more resembled a leer. "Sesshoumaru-sama," the dark-haired tree youkai breathed, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Sesshoumaru felt Jaken stiffen at the dryad's tone and insinuation and was glad she didn't get headaches. Although her brother's arousal during their fight had been unexpected--especially under the circumstances--she had certainly dealt with her share of over eager women and a few men who wished to share in her power and position. This particular creature was no exception.

"I require armor," the inuyoukai stated, her deep voice calm as she ignored the woman's advances. The dryad continued to step forward, circling the inuyoukai and the affronted imp and using her need for measurements as an excuse to survey the beautiful inuyoukai's body. The white daiyoukai had made it quite clear during past experiences that the tree youkai wouldn't be allowed to gather details through any more intimate means.

"And what have you been doing, my master, that would require you to need new armor?" the woman persisted in a tone that border on impetuous. "The last was the finest I've ever made; you must have faced a truly powerful enemy for it to have been damaged."

Sesshoumaru remained silent and was reminded of why she kept Jaken around as the small imp jumped to defend her.

"How dare you, you mouthy wench?" the imp shouted as he jumped in front of the woman who was slowly making her way to the front of the white inuyoukai. "Sesshoumaru-sama fought bravely and spectacularly. It was a magnificent display of his power and ability. If your pathetic armor had held up then he would not have been injured at all."

"Silence, Jaken," the daiyoukai commanded as she was reminded of all the reasons she'd ever contemplated ridding herself of the small creature.

"Injured?" the woman asked, eyes narrowing minutely as her green gaze swept over the white youkai's form before fixing on the empty sleeve swaying in the slight air currents that drifted between the trees. "Oh," the dryad breathed. Those dark green eyes gazed deeply into Sesshoumaru's and the inuyoukai could see the woman considering all the implications to this new development.

Sesshoumaru canted her head, a long wave of silver following the movement. "Are you incapable of fulfilling the request," she asked, her tone mocking with only a trace of threat. But even a trace was very, very real, and very, very deadly.

Immediately the green eyes dropped and the dryad's head bowed before the daiyoukai standing before her. "Of course, Sesshoumaru-sama," she murmured, every trace of disrespect vanished from her suddenly submissive voice.

Sesshoumaru turned her back on the dryad, walking away from the copse of trees. Jaken scrambled after her, leaving the beautiful woman standing before her grove. Above her head, the daiyoukai could hear the murmur of leaves as the dryad sent messages from branch to branch, tree to tree. Within a day, every creature residing within her boundaries would know of her handicap.

Exactly as she had planned.

* * *

Biting winds blew across the barren landscape. Jagged rocks broke the path of the rushing air, leaving shrieking whistles and roaring howls in its path. Only the hardiest grasses and shrubs survived this high. The biting cold, thin air, and harsh winds killed off anything delicate. As a result, there was little beauty to be found here and even less reason for anyone to search for any.

The white daiyoukai who ruled over the territories of the west let her cloud of youki dissolve as she placed one booted foot on the hard, rocky ground. Her hair whipped around her, huge waves of silver and white snapping and swirling and, miraculously, not tangling. Sesshoumaru tipped her face into the wind, letting the crisp, clean scents overwhelm her senses. She was home.

This stretch of rock, a series of peaks high above the treeline, was her stronghold. The white youkai was a creature born of and an extension of nature. No fancy mansion or castle for her, she had no need for such human eccentricities. These mountains were as much a part of her as her breath. If she stopped breathing, she had no doubt these rocks would plummet to the earth. While her energies traveled through all her territories, this was the heart they beat from.

Jaken huddled behind her, his heavy layers of clothing protecting him even as he huddled within her fur. She hated the feel of his hands on her pelt, but she permitted it here. The cold-blooded creature was not structured for this harsh environment. He never complained although, to be honest, they rarely spent extended periods of time here.

Letting the superfluous moment of nostalgia flow over her and drift away, Sesshoumaru turned west. Nightfall had already begun to set in and she would have to settle down soon. It wasn't normal that she stopped for the night, but the cold would require that Jaken conserve heat. It wouldn't be much past daybreak when challengers arrived and she wanted to be easy to find.

The last of the sun's pink traces were creeping away over the western horizon when the white inuyoukai crested the small outcropping of rock and turned her golden gaze to the level valley beneath. It was a meadow in some sense of the word. Flat and grassy, during the height of summer some blooms even dotted the ground. But it was far from soft and beautiful. The soil was dry and rocky and instead of a soft delicate carpet of grass, there were small clusters of coarse, rust-brown vegetation that only vaguely resembled grass.

It was an ugly place. A place that proved that strength and power equaled survival and that beauty was paramount to weakness and death. To Sesshoumaru, it was the most beautiful spot in all her lands. And soon, it would be the stage for death.

The tread of her feet made no sound on the stony ground as she crossed the silent expanse. For once, there was no sound of scrambling following her passage as Jaken rode tucked within the thick folds of her pelt. She paused in the center of the oblong field, ringed on all sides by walls of rock as the mountain peaks rose up around her. The youki of approaching youkai touched the edges of her senses, further amplified by the disturbances the creatures were creating in the earth's energies. Didn't they know the earth could feel them and, through the land, Sesshoumaru could feel them like ripples on a still pond?

Apparently not.

Remaining still, the inuyoukai addressed her faithful servant. "Jaken," she murmured just loud enough for the small, barely-conscious creature to hear.

"Yes, my lord," the imp slurred as he pulled himself from the warmth of her pelt and lumbered into a tiny enclave on the northern rock face. Sesshoumaru listened to the gravel scraping as he settled himself and within moments had sunk into deep hibernation. This was not a favorable environment for such a creature.

Once certain the tiny, green imp would not interfere, the white youkai dropped to a knee, reaching out her only hand to brush over the coarse stalks on a small outcropping of grass. Full darkness had set in but the moon was hanging low, having traveled most of its course under the shielding light of the sun. The pale disc was beginning to lose her light, about halfway through its cycle from full to dark, but it was still enough to glow off the ethereal white of her skin and make the dark stripes on her wrist and the back of her hand look like dark stains of blood. As she felt the distinctive youki of six youkai flank her little paradise, Sesshoumaru wondered how long it would take before her hand was stained in very real blood.

From behind her flared a release of youki. Unlike hers, which was saturating the area and bringing a deeper, more bone-infusing chill to the air, this youki brought a tinge to the atmosphere. It tingled along the skin and made her hair float slightly around her head. Even the air tasted slightly metallic.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," a voice floated through the air. It was a dark, deep voice that seemed very appropriate for this desolate landscape. Honestly, Sesshoumaru reflected, it was this youkai who she had patterned her own false tones after.

"Reikyotsu," she greeted without rising--or even looking behind herself--as her fingertips continued to drag through the dry stems. She heard as the elemental sky youkai stepped from the sparse cover of the shrubbery that grew up here beyond the treeline.

"You've been injured," the disembodied voice continued as the youkai stopped just within the boundaries of her little meadow. It lacked any mocking or accusatory sound, in fact, it sounded just as she supposed the older male wanted it to sound. The tone was somewhat soft, sympathetic. Just as an older teacher or mentor would address a student. Sesshoumaru supposed this was deliberate. This youkai had, in fact, been a friend of her father's and she supposed he probably even thought himself her mentor.

But that wasn't why he was addressing her so. He was establishing his ranking above her. The fact that he was older had never mattered as her own strength and power vastly surpassed his, but now that she was injured…

"News travels rather quickly, doesn't it, Reikyotsu?" Sesshoumaru commented, her own sarcasm heavily evident in defiance of his attempt to keep things calm. "And this news means what to you?" she continued, daring him to admit the reason for his visit.

"We must think of what is best for this land, Sesshoumaru-sama," Reikyotsu continued, pretending to be unaware of her animosity, including the fact that she'd yet to rise and acknowledge him.

"Yes," she admitted, letting the hostility slide from her voice. After all, she would do what was best for the land. It was what made her its master and what would make her turn it to another who could serve it better.

"We must find someone to handle the energy flows and keep things in balance. Someone not," his voice broke as the older youkai tried to find the right words without being overly disrespectful, "hindered."

"Yes," Sesshoumaru stated as she finally drew her fingers away from the dry stems and rose to her full height. Still, she didn't face the youkai. Instead, she fixed her eyes to the shrinking moon that was making its way over the horizon. Her hair and silk flapped around her in response both to the unforgiving weather and to the effect her own youki was having on the atmosphere.

"You have taken care of these lands well in the centuries since your great father's death," Reikyotsu remarked, "whoever takes your place will make sure you are provided for."

Sesshoumaru smirked and was glad the dark youkai behind her couldn't see it. She knew exactly how they would provide for her. Even if she were considered too weak to rule these lands, she would still be a threat to any who came after her. She would not live long, if it were up to them. Thankfully, for her anyway, it wasn't up to them.

Sesshoumaru turned, a movement that was very slight except for the billowing of white that followed her as her silver hair, white garments, and the blinding whiteness of her pelt swirled around her before settling back into the soft waves dictated by the winds. The remains of the moon shone down on her and she knew exactly what a picture she made, both to Reikyotsu and to the other youkai who were still hiding in the surrounding crags. Her tall stature was only made more obvious as she literally shone like a beacon of light, or of pure power.

Her guest was her complete opposite. He was darkness where she was light. If her canine heritage hadn't granted her with exceptional night vision he would be difficult to see, even in the fading light of the unhindered moon. Dark hair was pulled into a tight braid at the base of his neck, a braid that trailed almost to his knees. A sleeveless white tunic marked with black was visible only at the neckline before his chest was covered in black armor much like that which she had just ordered. Heavy, round shoulder guards covered his shoulders and black armguards protected his forearms.

Even his skin was darker than her pale complexion. And unlike her, he was unmarked. His face was sharp and hardened, the long tips of his traditional moustache floating in the same rhythm as Sesshoumaru's hair.

"You believe you would be best to lead these lands and keep hold over all its inhabitants?" Sesshoumaru asked, her golden stare narrowed and direct. Despite the differences in the ages between the two powerful youkai, Sesshoumaru was pleased to notice the slight tightening of the other's spine that indicated his discomfort under her gaze.

His red eyes narrowed back at her. _Why red?_ she wondered absently, _why must so many youkai choose red?_ Honestly, she was glad her own form allowed her golden eyes. Red had become so…clichéd. After all, they all had red eyes in their demonic form. Alternate forms were supposed to vary from that.

Blunt-tipped fingers tightened around the staff of his weapon, the lightening blade Raigekijin. "I believe that my strength is comparable with any others in this land and that I would be a suitable choice, baring yourself of course, Sesshoumaru-sama."

Sesshoumaru looked the storm youkai over and she had to admit the truth in his words. Reikyotsu was one of the most powerful youkai in Japan and it was possible he would be able to merge his energies with the powerful currents of the earth without losing himself in the process. However, injured or not, Sesshoumaru was not about to relinquish her position.

"Indeed," she answered, allowing no hint of emotion to color her voice and expressing a control that was essential to her position as daiyoukai, a control she didn't believe the other youkai, even though he was many times her senior, possessed.

He proved her supposition correct as he smiled in pleasure at her perceived approval. "Yes, the lands could use someone of my power and experience," the second qualification added as an indirect slight on her own youth. "And I already have sons that could be groomed to handle these lands along side me," another padded slight.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru agreed, grimacing internally at the thought of the uncouth and undisciplined Lightening-Brothers taking control of the territories her father had amassed and she controlled. That would be almost as bad as letting that damned hanyou brother of hers take control of them.

And considering that the hanyou had defeated her, it wasn't as absurd a possibility as she'd like to think so Sesshoumaru immediately put it out of her mind.

"And how would you prefer to choose a new leader, or were you assuming it would be you?" Sesshoumaru asked, her golden gaze never wavering from the continually narrowing shards of red before her.

"I supposed a trial could be arranged," Reikyotsu mussed and Sesshoumaru found it amusing that he would continue with this façade that he wasn't personally attempting to usurp her power. She could only assume that the five followers he had hiding in the background were more oblivious of his attentions than she. Another reason why none were worthy of her position.

Sesshoumaru nodded and gained another smile from the older youkai. _How can this man truly believe he's worthy when he laps after my approval like a pup?_ she wondered.

"A trial," she repeated quietly, but in this harsh land, the sound magnified and carried to the ears of both her current visitor and her hidden listeners. "I agree, there should be a trial." Only then did she allow a smile to show across her features and reveal a hint of her intentions to the dark youkai who had invaded her private sanctuary.

Reikyotsu barely had time to adjust his grip on his staff when Sesshoumaru rushed toward him, seeming to appear directly before his eyes. She was tall, but so was he so they stood eye to eye. But that didn't stop her from reaching out her only remaining hand and wrapping it around the thickly-muscled throat of the darker youkai. Long, deceptively delicate, claw-tipped fingers wrapped around that dark neck and supernatural strength lifted the youkai a hands breadth from the earth.

"Perhaps the trial should be whoever can defeat me?" Sesshoumaru whispered as she pulled the dark youkai close. A cruel smile crossed her lips when she felt his body tremble under the slight touch of her breath against his cheek. For all his boasting and confidence, the older male was frightened of her, as he well should be.

But then Reikyotsu brought his left hand up to wrap around her restraining wrist and Sesshoumaru saw her error as the blunt fingers on his right hand tightened around the staff of Raigekijin. If she had one more hand, she'd have plunged it into his chest and stopped his heart, or maybe just taken the staff but, for one critical moment, she'd forgotten to fight while assessing her own new weakness.

Swearing under her breath, Sesshoumaru released her grip and spun away from her opponent just as a blast of lightening came down from the sky to strike in the spot she'd just vacated. The dry scent of scorched fur reached her nose as the white inuyoukai peered through the darkness and toward the elemental youkai. The blast had struck him directly but a strike of lightening had about as much effect on an elemental youkai as her own poison had on herself.

Reikyotsu wasted not a moment as he charged her, his staff extended before him in preparation for an attack. Sesshoumaru pulled the sheathed sword from her obi and brought it up to block the attack. The muscles of her shoulders and chest ached beneath the strain of Reikyotsu's two-handed strike.

"Do you believe you can beat me with a sheathed sword, boy?" the elder youkai asked in an impressive growl for someone not of canine heritage, every bit of concern and respect abandoned from his tone.

"It will be more than enough to defeat you," the white youkai gasped as she managed to push him back a step.

Reikyotsu's visage distorted from the effort to keep from losing additional ground, which made the smirk that crossed his face seem like a sick parody from an opium-inspired hallucination. "Too bad you only have that worthless club to strike with, Sesshoumaru," he stated through strained vocal cords. "And now you're missing a set of claws, too. Looks like you won't be able to wield Tessaiga, even if you ever find it."

"Tessaiga will be mine," she snapped as the daiyoukai managed to push him back another step. Just one more and the older youkai would likely lose his grip beneath her strength.

"It is a myth, your father had no such sword created," Reikyotsu growled as his arms shook and Sesshoumaru felt the locked muscles give just a bit.

She smirked, her eyes glinting with the joy of supplying death as a dark quiet laugh extended just as far as Reikyotsu's pointed ear. "It exists and I have found it, it will be mine," she said as she pushed him back one last step.

Reikyotsu stumbled and broke their locked embrace. He fell to the ground and, dropping the wooden sheath of Tenseiga, Sesshoumaru followed him down. Raigekijin slipped from the dark youkai's fingers and the white inuyoukai allowed herself no more mistakes as her knees came down on the forearms of the prone youkai, pinning them to the ground.

As she wrapped her poisoned claws around that dark neck again, Sesshoumaru was reminded of the last time she'd pinned an opponent to the ground like this. For a moment, the dark, red eyes lightened to a familiar golden hue and that black hair faded to white. But unlike that time, there was nothing in this youkai's scent but fear and resignation. And unlike last time, there would be no stalling or last minute distractions.

"And how," she leaned forward and whispered against the older man's ear, "do you expect to control these territories if you cannot defend yourself against a handicapped opponent?" She smiled against his cheek as she let her claws pierce the skin of his neck and the sweet scent of Dokkasou filled the air, mingling and enhanced by the blood of her victim. He opened his mouth but his scream was silent as his vocal cords dissolved away. Soon there was only pulp left in her hand as the neck beneath her grip completely dissolved, separating the head from the body.

Sesshoumaru stood from her fallen victim, nudging the head away from the body with her foot. Not that it was the removal of the other youkai's head that had caused his death. The circulation of her poison through both the body and the skull had been fatal. And while decapitation of a youkai such as Reikyotsu wasn't immediately fatal, no one survived her Dokkasou. Not even arrogant, overbearing elemental youkai. But as Sesshoumaru stared down into the unseeing eyes of her father's friend, she nudged the head a bit further over, turning those eyes away. After all, moving it away from the body couldn't hurt, could it?

Stepping away from the body and over the staff, Sesshoumaru reached down and retrieved the discarded Tenseiga. She'd finally managed to use the damn thing as a weapon, even if only in defense. _Take that, Father_, she thought and smirked mentally. Two of the youkai surrounding the small meadow had slipped away at Reikyotsu's rather obvious defeat. The daiyoukai took a moment to impress their scents into her memory. They were both traitors and cowards and she would deal with them. Of the remaining three, one stepped into the meadow.

"Are you ready to try for my position next?" she asked without facing the other youkai.

"No, Sesshoumaru-sama," a young voice answered and Sesshoumaru turned to see an adolescent bear bow low before her. "We meant no disrespect, Sesshoumaru-sama. We feared, but you're clearly still the strongest among us."

The daiyoukai nodded, silently wondering how long the young man would stand there if she didn't accept his apology. He seemed awfully repentant and may very well stand there for the rest of the night. And to be honest, Sesshoumaru was feeling rather unmerciful after slaughtering a man she'd known since adolescence. But she recognized the energies coming off this young youkai. He roamed a bit of forest just south of the base of this mountain range. As with all youkai who claimed territory within her borders, his youki mixed with hers as he united with the land. And so far he hadn't been too horrible about upsetting the delicate balances he was to maintain. So after some rather uncomfortable moments, Sesshoumaru took pity on the young youkai.

"Present his staff and armor to his sons," she commanded and the young man rose up and nodded, keeping his eyes averted in a show of deference. She supervised as the remaining two youkai crept from the shadows and assisted in unfastening the heavy bone plates from the dark youkai's headless form. She would have insisted they take the body as well, however the caustic poison should dissolve it completely by daybreak.

Soon, she found herself again alone in the valley, with only the company of a hibernating Jaken and the cooling corpse of Reikyotsu by her side. The harsh winds of the mountaintops were deadened here by the walls of rock that rose around this place so there was little to distract her from body.

"Well," she commented to it, "at least you died with both arms. Such a waste, actually." She turned her attention to the moon which was drooping over the horizon, soon the night would be left in complete darkness. It was possible she would have more challengers but word would spread of Reikyotsu's defeat and, although many would want her position and think they were worthy of it, it was unlikely there would be many--or any--who would be willing to challenge her for it.

And that was just fine. She had something else to do than sit and take care of challengers anyway. Tessaiga was back out in the world, and now she didn't have to search so fruitlessly for it. It was obviously some kind of fluke that the hanyou had managed to use it, and it wasn't as if he'd managed to actually unlock its power.

But what Reikyotsu had said held truth. Could she wield Tessaiga with just one arm? She was still powerful, even still a competitor, but could she ever equal the greatness of her father now that she was so hampered?

She would have to find a way somehow. And the easiest way would be to fix the arm problem. Sure, it would grow back. But that was likely to take years, centuries. Sesshoumaru knew she was patient when she needed to be, but not that damned patient. If Tenseiga were going to heal it, it would have done so already. Worthless sword. While she'd been in her healing meditation she'd hoped her youki would reform it, but that had proven false.

So if she wasn't going to get it back, what else could she do? The inuyoukai let her golden gaze drift back down to the dark headless form at her feet--the form with two perfectly good arms that she was beyond resentful for. "It's too bad I can't just take one of yours," she stated to the corpse as she poked it with a toe again. "After all, it's the least you could do after challenging me."

Then again, there wasn't really any reason she couldn't. Reikyotsu had been managing a piece of land southeast of here since long before her father's death. His youki had been entwined with hers ever since she'd taken control of his territory. The limb may very well accept her.

Sesshoumaru reached down and wrapped her claws around the cold, hard bicep of her slain opponent. Normally, it was beyond beneath her to mutilate a corpse, unless one considered that most of her victims eventually dissolved into toxic puddles of goo. Her nose wrinkled slightly as the inuyoukai closed her eyes and twisted while squeezing the dead arm.

A wet snapping sound followed the sudden depression that formed beneath her fingers as the bone snapped and she quickly pulled at the limb, tearing muscles and skin. Despite all the carnage she'd caused in her life, this was among the most disgusting acts she'd ever committed. As the arm came free, she took several steps back from the body, trying to distance herself from the atrocity she'd just committed.

Turning away, she looked down at the arm she'd decided would now be hers. It as much darker than her normal skin color and unmarked, it would be strange not seeing the stripes that had always adorned her wrists. There were no claws either; the tip on each finger was blunt. She would never be able to use poison from this arm. It wasn't a perfect solution, that's for sure. But perhaps it would last until her own arm grew back.

The white inuyoukai settled herself on the ground, Tenseiga and the borrowed arm stretched across her folded legs. Pushing back the lengths of white fabric, she exposed the tender stump of her arm. The infection that she'd noticed the day before was gone and new skin had grown well over the previously exposed flesh. For all intents and purposes, it was healed. But it ached. It had since she'd awoken the day before. Twinges that felt like they were coming up from the arm that was no longer there and a constant, dull ache.

Wrapping the copious folds of silk around her shoulder, she pinned them in place and reached down for the dark arm in her lap. Bringing the mangled end to her own healed flesh, Sesshoumaru waited to see if the lingering traces of youki in the arm would accept her. Sharp fangs clenched over her lip, marring the pink flesh as the new skin split apart and bone and muscle met and connected. It burned and tore as her own body tried to both accept and reject this foreign flesh, the war playing out on a newly healed and still sensitive wound.

Except for the rapidly healing tears in her lip, no sign of her internal pain showed on Sesshoumaru's face as the arm slowly adjusted and connected to her body. As the burning began to fade and she began to feel the very real sensations of her new limb rather than the mysterious phantom ones she'd been feeling lately, Sesshoumaru flexed the arm and was pleased to see it work. Slowly she claimed control over each finger as she curled them, one by one, into a tight fist.

A smile spread across her face as she felt the full use of the arm come to her. This would certainly last until her arm grew back. And with this she would be able to retrieve Tessaiga from the half-grown brat who thought he could defy her.

A glance toward the last youkai who'd defied her reminded Sesshoumaru of all that came before. The list was long and a good many were like this one, friends or comrades of her father's. It had started before the great daiyoukai's death, when he'd become preoccupied with that human woman. Sesshoumaru had taken care of each challenger while the Inu no Taisho had been otherwise…engaged. She'd never told him who the challengers were and he'd never said a word about his missing friends. But he had to have known.

Her father had been master of these lands because he was the strongest youkai in Japan. But the others followed him because they wanted too. They liked him. Sesshoumaru succeeded him because she was the strongest in his absence, but she was followed out of fear. She could never grow close to those who served her, for eventually they would challenge her just as they had risen against her father when they thought they had seen a weakness.

_Is this why you did it, Father?_ she thought as she stared at the body that was beginning to grow soft as her poison undermined the structure within. _Were you so tired of the betrayal that you turned to a lover?_

At times like this, when she watched the body of someone she'd known for centuries fall apart, the inuyoukai thought she might understand what had driven her father into the grip of madness. The daiyoukai would never admit to being lonely but it was sometimes…difficult to have no one close.

Except the ever faithful and eternally incompetent Jaken, that is.

As the sun rose over the valley, two acidic puddles marred the meadow of Sesshoumaru's stronghold. A larger one marked a body and nearby a smaller stain was all that was left of Reikyotsu's head. Sesshoumaru began to make her way from the meadow as the shadows of the mountain peaks began to shift across the barren land. As she made her way out of the shelter and into the harsh, icy winds, a sharp burning pain extended up from the borrowed arm.

Startled by this new development, the inuyoukai tried to bring the arm up to examine it only to find that the limb no longer responded to her will. Pushing up the heavy kimono sleeve with her true hand, Sesshoumaru barely refrained from cursing. The arm was dissolving.

From her own poison.

The poison that she had injected in Reikyotsu's body had already infested the arm before she had attached it and, apparently, her own immunity to the poison had not been bestowed on the transplanted part.

Gripping the false limb just above the elbow, Sesshoumaru tore the arm off. There was no pain, proving that her control over the limb had been superficial at best. But the previously healed wound at the base of her severed arm was now open. It would be at least another day before it closed completely.

There was no one around to temper her show of displeasure as she spun and hurled the rapidly dissipating limb from the peak of the mountain. Harsh winds captured it as its inertia began to fade and carried it further. Somewhere, in some far corner of her territory, it would fall to the earth. If it hadn't completely dissolved before the winds released their grip.

The biting gale brushed over her, its fierce pull soothing her in a way only a creature of the mountain could be soothed. It was enough that instead of howling into the lightening sky, Sesshoumaru just brought her hand to her temple, massaging away the headache that was not there. Because Sesshoumaru didn't get headaches.

A particularly invasive gust caught beneath her mane, pulling the heavy wave toward the sky as Sesshoumaru sank to the ground. She would stay here a few more days, a smirk pulled at the side of her mouth. After all, she wouldn't want to miss anyone if she had any more visitors. This time, she wouldn't use her poison and then she could replace her arm. Perhaps with one more useful to her, one with claws or even poison. Then she would come down from the mountains, her position secured, and she would retrieve Tessaiga.

Everything was going to be fine.

* * *

The sun settled heavily on the horizon, sitting there as if unwilling to drift beneath the green hills it was cushioned on. Sesshoumaru stared directly into it, the bright light burning through her slitted pupils and reeking havoc on the sensitive light receptors in her eyes. It was a burning that was little in comparison to the dull ache that still throbbed from the arm that was not there. But at least her eyes would heal as soon as she looked away.

It had been nearly a moon cycle since she'd lost her arm. Her lands had settled swiftly and easily, the death of Reikyotsu impressing her supremacy over the youkai within her lands. A few other creatures, young and weak, _stupid_, had challenged her and they had each been swiftly dealt with.

It would be time to search out Tessaiga soon. If she could just figure out how to take and wield it.

The ground vibrated beneath her booted feet as creatures crested over a hill some distance away. There was no youki fluctuating against hers, which was flowing through every blade of grass much, much further than the eye could see. She was in the northeastern most part of her land; an area not often encroached on by humans. A gentle smile tugged at her lips. _After all,_ she thought, _there are dangerous youkai in these areas._

"Bandits," the inuyoukai murmured without turning as the rancid scent of unwashed bodies drifted on the breeze. Not that soldiers smelt better, all humans were dirty, but bandits carried the scent of too many men. Their horses, their armor, even their weapons bore the scents of previous owners.

The thudding that was growing steadily stronger beneath her feet stuttered to a halt and Sesshoumaru realized they'd seen her as they came down the side of the nearest hill.

"That ain't no youkai, stupid," one voice hissed above the sound of stomping horses and shifting armor, "it's just a man. Got some pretty nice looking armor there, though."

_Well,_ Sesshoumaru thought, _at least the bandits had taste._ After all, she'd just received her new armor a few days before from the gossipy dryad.

Another voice rose up in a battle cry above the restless band, sealing their fate before Sesshoumaru had decided it for them. "Kill him!" the voice called out. "Kill 'im and take it all!"

As the hoof beats resumed, Sesshoumaru turned her blind eyes from the burning sun. It took two heartbeats for her pupils to heal and adjust and she smiled slightly at the approaching men. After all, if they were to die, it was the least she could do.

She flexed the borrowed fingers of the blue oni arm currently attached to her body. Over the past several weeks, she'd tried many. She'd long ago stopped thinking of any as a potential replacement. They were temporary tools.

And this one was about to be used.

Pushing off the ground, the white inuyoukai leapt into center of the mob. Screams filled the air as some of the less fortunate realized they had, indeed, found one of the dreaded youkai in these hills. The more fortunate never knew what happened as their heads rolled from their bodies, slashed free by the heavy claws that in no way matched the grace and deceptive delicacy of her form.

But even those who survived the initial attack perished and Sesshoumaru landed softly atop the hill the unfortunate bandits had just crested. Horses ambled confused for a moment before a series of corpses began to fall to the ground. As the creatures felt their masters' fall, they became restless and soon they panicked and fled.

The daiyoukai ignored the antics of the beasts. The mindless animals had already been spoiled by humans. Unless they made their way back to a human settlement, they would become prey to some hungry predator. Instead, she turned her attention to the blue arm attached to her left side. The leathery skin was becoming flaccid.

A rustling in the tall grasses nearby interrupted her inspection. "Sesshoumaru-sama," the small imp called out and she immediately coveted the days she'd spent on the mountain when he was in hibernation. "An entire gang of bandits," he squealed, "such a great feat could only be accomplished by someone as great as you."

The white youkai chose to ignore the tiny creature, keeping her attention on the state of the transplanted arm. If she turned her attention to him, she might do something rash. But, to further enforce her theory that he was completely lacking in common sense, Jaken refused to be ignored.

"And such an extraordinary arm you have. Of course it would be, procured from that formidable blue oni yourself. I am truly fla--"

Anything else the imp had to say was silence as Sesshoumaru gave in to temptation and placed a booted foot across the small youkai's face. It only took a small amount of pressure to inspire silence from that beaked mouth.

"Perhaps," she informed him, "you should _use_ those worthless holes in your head and look at this arm." Sesshoumaru held out the blue arm, which was clearly dissolving from the surge of her youki that had occurred during her attack.

It had been the same with all the stolen arms. The daiyoukai was simply too powerful to use such inferior parts. As she used them, her youki flowed through the temporary limb, breaking it down from the inside.

"_Ack!!"_ The imp shrieked and Sesshoumaru moved away as the all too common desire to silence the creature permanently pulsed through her. "Is it still no good, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"The next youkai you find must be stronger," she called back to him as Sesshoumaru dropped the rotted arm and continued to walk away. Putting distance between herself and the squawking creature was seeming to be a better idea with every passing moment. Besides, there was a slight disturbance in the youki undercurrents approaching. "Or I will kill you," she added and relished in the sharp, sweet scent of fear as a chemical cocktail surged through Jaken's body.

Jaken followed at a considerable distance, unaware of her destination as Sesshoumaru slowly made her way toward the source of weak youki that was invading her lands.

"You seem to have a problem," a voice rose from the bushes at the side of the game trail Sesshoumaru was following. "You are the older brother of Inuyasha, correct?"

_Well,_ the daiyoukai thought, wrinkling her nose in irritation, _no one's ever addressed me as _that_ before._ She refrained from answering as she looked over the kneeling body of the youkai that had addressed her. _No,_ she amended, _not a youkai. I smell the stench of human on him_.

The hanyou was kneeling with his head bowed. His entire body covered in layers of white baboon fur, a mask concealing his face.

"You are Sesshoumaru-sama, are you not?" the mysterious hanyou repeated. Behind her Jaken squawked but, as much as she wanted to, the inuyoukai decided now was not an appropriate time to silence him.

"And what kind of despicable creature are you?" Sesshoumaru responded without answering the hanyou's question. To be honest, this pathetic creature was already annoying her. The stench of human was grating and the youki being given off was so weak that it barely made an impression on the land. And even though he was acting appropriately reverent, this base creature really had no business addressing one such as her. Besides, a certain stiffness from beneath the copious furs belied the creature's true submissiveness.

And he'd addressed her as Inuyasha's older brother.

Could there possibly be a worse insult?

"I am merely one who hates Inuyasha, just as you do," the creature answered and it was likely the only answer that prevented an immediate death.

After all, Sesshoumaru wasn't particularly pleased with that hanyou, either.

"I offer you a gift, something of assistance so you can defeat Inuyasha," the hidden hanyou continued. "Please, take this arm."

From within the folds of white fur, the hanyou brought out an arm. Of all the arms Sesshoumaru had gone through over the past days, this was by far the most ridiculous. _Surely, _the inuyoukai thought as she examined it from her place, _there must be a reason he's wasting my time with this._

"What joke is this?!" Jaken snapped, outraged, and Sesshoumaru secretly agreed. "Why, that is a _human_ arm, you stupid bastard!"

"Indeed," the hanyou responded evenly, apparently unperturbed by the angry imp. Not that an angry imp was particularly frightening… "But it is also imbedded with a shard of the Shikon no Tama," the hanyou continued.

In a sudden flash, Sesshoumaru understood the implications of such an arm. It was a perfect solution to her problems. A long-term solution.

And of course, because he--like everyone else--apparently thought she needed everything spelled out, the hanyou went on to explain exactly what a human arm with a Shikon no Tama shard was useful for. And she held back a sigh of exasperation as he missed the most interesting implications.

"With the arm of a human, you should have no trouble wielding Inuyasha's sword, Tessaiga," the dark voice continued and Sesshoumaru knew he was correct. A certain amount of humanity would automatically bypass the barrier her father had placed on the sword. Why hadn't she thought of it herself? Oh yes, because she needed an arm hardy enough to handle the influx of her youki and a human arm would never work. But that's where the accursed shard came in. Something the irritating hanyou continued to miss.

"After all," the hanyou's voice broke through her thoughts, "I've heard that Tessaiga is 'The Sword of Protection,' is it not? A sword whose power is for the protection of humans. A powerful and ruthless youkai such as yourself would never be able to wield its power."

Now, according to the myths that was correct, even Sesshoumaru had to admit that. But her father had been powerful and ruthless so there was no way there could be truth in those words. Besides, there was no way her father would have denied her the sword as her inheritance.

And at this point it was clear that the hanyou before her may not even realize what he was offering her. The fact that the arm was human only helped with the immediate problem of the barrier, a problem Sesshoumaru could fix once Tessaiga was in her possession. After all, there must be a rational way around it. The real prize was the shard and what the shard would do that made the arm useful to her.

It would keep the arm from being overwhelmed by her youki. It would keep the arm from disintegrating. But the fact that this creature didn't realize what he was offering her also exposed his true intentions in befriending her. His posture and attitude was of one who wanted to gain her favor but instead it was as if he was trying to manipulate her into doing him a favor.

"Coward," the inuyoukai stated, the casual amusement in her voice bringing a tremor of fear from the small youkai beside her. "You say you hate Inuyasha and yet you are afraid to face him. Instead, you would use me to destroy him."

"You are correct," the hanyou admitted, his dark voice remaining humble.

Beside her, Jaken began to stammer. "Why you impudent ass, you sure have some damn nerve to try--"

"Intriguing," Sesshoumaru interrupted her small minion, "I'll take the arm." The daiyoukai ignored the sputtering of the imp as she reached out and took the offered limb. Honestly, she was a bit disgusted with herself for even considering a human appendage, especially one with a shard of the Shikon no Tama. Both were beneath her and, separately, she would have nothing to do with either one. But used in tandem they were the perfect answer to her current…difficulties.

She began to turn away from her new benefactor when he spoke again. "There is one more thing," the hanyou began, "a young monk now accompanies Inuyasha. This monk may prove even more troublesome than your brother." The hanyou's hand disappeared back into the folds of the white hide and pulled out a round, papery hive.

"Please, take this. It is a nest containing the Wasps of Hell, the Saimyoushou. They will be ideal for disabling the Kazaana in the monk's right hand."

Sesshoumaru narrowed her eyes at the hanyou, wishing she could see beneath that mask and into the creature's eyes. She was being used, that much was obvious and the hanyou had admitted to that. But this manipulation was beginning to feel a bit too staged. _I could just kill him now, _she considered, _then take the arm and the nest._

After a few moments of silence, the inuyoukai finally nodded her head at Jaken who took two stumbling steps forward and retrieved the nest.

"Tell me, beast, what is your name?" she finally asked as Jaken returned to her side, the paper nest clutched gingerly in his stubby fingers. Sliding the human limb into her obi, ironically next to Tenseiga, she reached down and plucked the nest from the imp's trembling hands.

"Naraku," the hanyou purred and Sesshoumaru confirmed her suspicion that his reverence was a ploy as self-satisfaction colored every syllable. "I am called Naraku."

"Naraku," the inuyoukai repeated, feeling her tongue curl around the name. She held the nest up before her eyes, inspecting the innocent-looking ball. "I shall remember it."

* * *

Annoying A/N-What can I say? I'm very, very sorry this took so long to get out, I found myself…distracted several times. Plus it was a rather boring chapter to write with the complete lack of my favorite hanyou. I also apologize for making everyone wait for a chapter completely lacking Inuyasha but I thought it was really important to get Sesshoumaru home and healed and in a certain frame of mind before she met with Naraku. She'll meet back up with her little brother in the next chapter.

Also, I've opened a livejournal account specifically for the purpose of tracking my progress on this story although so far it's just full my bits of unfinished work and lots of ramblings. I want to invite anyone to come take a look. I'm working on the plot of a new story and have hit a critical roadblock and I would appreciate any feedback. Please come by and drop a line. I'd really appreciate it.

I also want to thank all my reviewers because you guys make my heart sing. I'd like to think I was secure enough to write for myself but I actually write for you. Thank you so much.

_Special thanx to:_

_c-loke_

_Manda_

_SP777_

_Snowfall_

_War-chan_

_DrakenD4_

_Tryst_

_Sparkangel_

_Yasha3393_

_Shuori_

_Bigshow2000us_

_Tenamanda1988_

_Demongoddess061_

_Princess Sin_

_Allieweasley_

_Lyiint_

_The-world-needs-peace_

_Psycho Demon-Witch_

_Tenshiamanda_

_Kuyeng13_

_Asai_


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